

/in. Izccc' . Vj , 



JOHANN VALENTIN ANDREAE 



(5ermanic Xiterature an& Culture 

^ A SERIES OF MONOGRAPHS 

Edited by JULIUS GOEBEL, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF GERMANIC LANGUAGES IK THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 



CHEISTIANOPOLIS 

AN IDEAL STATE OF THE 
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 



TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN OF JOHANN VAL- 
ENTIN ANDREAE WITH AN HISTORICAL 
INTRODUCTION 

BY / 

FELIX EMIL HELD, PH.D. 

Associate Professor of German in Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 



NEW YORK 
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 

AMERICAN BRANCH: 85 West 8«nd Street 

LONDON, TORONTO, MELBOURNE, AND BOMBAY 
HUMPHREY MILFORD 

1916 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



fiXg' 



Copyright, igi6 
BY Oxford University Press 

AMERICAN BRANCH 




JUN 22 i9l6 

©CLA433457 



PREFACE 

It is my belief that Johann Valentin Andreae represents a 
very important step in the development of the principles of 
education and scientific investigation, and that his works, 
now very little known, deserve worthy recognition in the 
history of literature. It is the purpose of this investiga- 
tion to show the value of his writings as those of a great 
teacher and reformer ; and especially to establish his Utopia, 
Reipublicae Christianopolitanae Descriptio, in its proper 
place among the ideal states of the sixteenth and seven- 
teenth centuries. As the Latin original of this Utopia has 
become quite rare I have made an English translation of 
it, hoping that thereby the attention of students of litera- 
ture, philosophy, pedagogy, and sociology may be attracted 
to this remarkable document. Recognizing the great value 
of Andreae's work Robert Boyle, as early as 1647, i" ^ letter 
to Samuel Hartlib, expressed the wish that an English 
version of it might be made. 

For my introduction to the subject, and for his assistance 
and direction in its development, I wish to express my 
gratitude and appreciation to Professor Julius Goebel, my 
adviser and teacher. I also acknowledge my sincere thanks 
to other members of the department of German of the 
University of Illinois for their interest and helpful sug- 
gestions. F. E. H. 



CONTENTS 

Preface iii 

PART I 

ANDREW'S " CHRISTIANOPOLIS," ITS ORIGIN 
AND INFLUENCE 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Introduction 3 

Plato's Republic. Discovery of America and 
its effect on European thought and literature. 
Robinson Crusoe and forerunners of the same. 
Andreae and the shipwreck motif. More's 
Utopia. Andreae's life and works; his relation 
to education and to educators of the past. Sum- 
mary of the purpose of the present investigation. 

II. More's '' Utopia/' Campanella's '' Civitas 

Sous '' and the '' Christianopolis " . . i6 
Views and opinions of Hiillemann, Mohl, Sig- 
wart, and later commentators regarding the 
originality of the Christianopolis. The Chris- 
tianopolis compared and contrasted with the 
Utopia and the Civitas Solis. Is it a "copy" 
of either? The several purposes of More, 
Campanella, and Andreae. Herder's opinion. 
Andreae impressed with the government of 
Geneva. Analysis of the Christianopolis. An- 
dreae's object, educational and religious re- 
form. The founding of a " college." The 
Christianopolis original in form and content. 

III. The '' Christianopolis " and Francis 

Bacon's '' New Atlantis " . . . -41 
Opposition to Aristotle's deductive reason- 
ing. Francis Bacon's life and works. The JVew 
Atlantis — date of composition. Bacon's ambition ; 
his relation to scholars on the Continent. Ca- 
saubon, Weckherlin, Matthew. Analysis of the 



vi Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

New Atlantis and a comparison with the 
Christianopolis. Salomon's House and the Col- 
lege of Six Days' Works. Seeking after "light." 
Earlier works of Andreae which contain his 
views — the Fama, the Confessio, Die Christen- 
burg. Bacon's conception of a college is not the 
first in Utopias. External as well as inner evi- 
dence make a knowledge of Andreae's works on 
the part of Bacon extremely likely. 

IV. The " Christianopolis '' and '' Nova Solyma " 75 

Immediate effect of Andreae's work more 
noticeable in England than in Germany. Nova 
Solyma a Utopian romance ; date and author. 
Life of Gott. His association with scholars in 
the circle of Andreae's friends. The them.e and 
purpose of Nova Solyma. Its close similarity 
to the Christianopolis. " Light." 

V. Andre^^ the Royal Society of London, and 

Educational Reform ...... 100 

Disciples and followers of Andreae. Come- 
nius's efforts to carry on regular correspondence 
with Andreae; his relations to Andreae. Simi- 
larity of their programs for educational reform. 
Hartlib; his unique position in England. Dury, 
religious and educational reformer ; his ac- 
quaintance with Andreae. Figulus. Hubner. 
Comenius and Dury invited to England. Robert 
Boyle. The Invisible College. The Philosophi- 
cal College. Haacke, a charter member of the 
Royal Society. Sprat. The Royal Society of 
London, 1662. Its aims. Relation to similar 
academies on the Continent. Some important 
features of the Royal Society could not have 
come through the New Atlantis, which is usually 
given as its model. 

Bibliography 126 



CHAPTER 



I. 

11. 

III. 
IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 
VIII. 

IX. 
X. 

XL 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 



Contents vii 
PART II 

PAGE 

Lhristianopolis 129 

Dedicatory i^j 

To THE Reader i^o 

The Reason for the Journey, and 

THE Shipwreck . . . .142 
Driven to the Island, Caphar 

Salama j^^ 

The Origin of Christianopolis . . 144 
Examination of the Stranger, 
First, as to His Ideas of Life and 

His Morals 14c 

Examination, Secondly, as to His 

Person 1^5 

Examination, Thirdly, as to His 

Personal Culture .... 147 
Description of the City . . .149 
Agriculture and Animal Hus- 
bandry J CO 

Mills and Bakeries . . . .151 
The Meat Shop and the Supply 

House jc^ 

Metals and Minerals . . . .154 

Dwellings jec 

Mechanics je^ 

Public Prayers leg 

Food '• * 159 

Occupations j5q 

Vacation Periods 152 

Rewards j5^ 

Penalties j^. 

Nobility j^- 

Officials j55 

Public Works , .... 168 



Vlll 



Contents 



CHAPTER PAGE 

XXIII. The Homes 169 

XXIV. Furniture and Furnishings . .170 
XXV. Night Lights 172 

XXVI. The College 173 

XXVII. The Triumvirate 174 

XXVIII. Religion 175 

XXIX. Administration of the State . . 177 

XXX. The Minister or Presbyter . .179 

XXXI. Conscience 180 

XXXII. The Minister's Assistant or the 

DiACONUS 181 

XXXIII. The Judge 183 

XXXIV. Understanding 184 

XXXV. Measure 185 

XXXVI. The Director of Learning . . 186 

XXXVII. Truth 188 

XXXVIII. The Tongue 189 

XXXIX. The Library 190 

XL. The Armory 192 

XLI. The Archives . . . . . 193 

XLII. Printing 194 

XLIII. The Treasury 195 

XLIV. The Laboratory 196 

XLV. The Drug Supply House ... 198 

XLVI. Anatomy 199 

XLVII. The Natural Science Laboratory . 200 

XLVI II. Painting and Pictures . . . 202 

XLIX. Mathematical Instruments . . 203 

L. The Mathematics Laboratory . . 204 

LI. The Departments of Learning . 205 

LII. The Teachers 207 

LIII. The Pupils 208 

LIV. The Nature of Instruction . . 209 



Contents 



IX 



CHAPTER PAGE 

LV. Grammar, The First Department . 210 

LVI. Oratory 212 

LVII. The Various Languages . . . 213 

LVIII. Logic, The Second Department . 215 

LIX. Metaphysics 216 

LX. Theosophy 217 

LXI. Arithmetic, The Third Department 219 

LXII. Geometry 220 

LXIIL Mystic Numbers 221 

LXIV. Music, The Fourth Department . 223 

LXV. Musical Instruments .... 224 

LXVI. The Chorus 225 

LXVIL Astronomy, The Fifth Department 22^] 

LXVIII. Astrology 228 

LXIX The Heaven of the Christians . 229 
LXX. Natural Science, the Sixth De- 
partment 231 

LXXL History 232 

LXXn. Church History 233 

LXXHL Ethics, the Seventh Department . 235 

LXXIV. The Government 236 

LXXV. Christian Poverty .... 238 

LXXVL Theology, the Eighth Department 240 

LXXVn. Practice of Theology .... 242 

LXXVHL Prophecies 243 

LXXIX. Medicine 245 

LXXX. Jurisprudence 246 

LXXXI. The Dwellings of the Youth . . 247 

LXXXn. The Temple 249 

LXXXHL Vocation 250 

LXXXIV. Services 252 

LXXXV. Sacred Psalmody 253 

LXXXVL The Sacraments 255' 



X Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

LXXXVII. Absolution and Excommunication 256 

LXXXVIIL Matrimony 258 

LXXXIX. Women 260 

XC. Childbirth 261 

XCI. Widowhood 263 

XCII. The Council Hall .... 265 

XCIII. The Councilmen 266 

XCIV. The Gardens 268 

XCV. Water 269 

XCVI. The Aged 270 

XCVII. Foreigners and Paupers . . . 272 

XCVIII. The Sick 273 

XCIX. Death 275 

C. Burial 276 

Conclusion of the Description and 

Departure of the Stranger. . 2']'] 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Johann Valentin Andreae .... Frontispiece 

FACING 
PAGE 

Ground Plan of Christianopolis — Christianopolis . 129 

Title Page of the Original Edition of the " Chris- 
tianopolis " . . . 143 



PART I 



CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTION 

The conception of an ideal state comes down to us from 
the time of the ancients. Plato's Republic is the expres- 
sion of the ideal of a philosopher, the representative of the 
highest culture of his age, who in the time of his maturity, 
after long association with one of the greatest teachers of 
his country, after years of travel among diJfferent peoples, 
and a life of close attention to the study of social and politi- 
cal conditions, reduced the results of his observations and 
experiences into concrete form. He pictured to his country- 
men a state, free from the corruptions of extreme license 
and the dangers of tyranny, and embodying in its laws 
and institutions the two fundamentals of his governmental 
ethics — man's individual life and personal morality, and his 
relation and obligations as a member of state and society. 
Plato was a prophet — a prophet of evil, because he saw 
clearly and truly the inevitable outcome to which the trend 
of events in the Athenian state was leading; a prophet of 
good, in that he foretold a better time, analyzed the problem, 
and offered his solution. But the Republic is a Utopia 
in the literal sense. Plato's state exists nowhere — it is a 
purely ideal conception which the author cannot locate in 
any definite place. 

The Renaissance marks the time when men's thoughts 
again were called to the subject of reform. The practical 
turn given by Humanism away from sophistical, disputing, 
dreamy abstractions, toward the affairs of life; the en- 

3 



4 Christianopolis 

lightenment of the world, spiritually and mentally, due to 
the revival of learning ; and especially the discovery of the 
western world, all tended to give man and society a new 
impetus — a swelling, crowding, longing desire for a fuller, 
freer, larger life. 

The century after the discovery of America, and the ex- 
plorations and voyages of the Spanish and Portuguese which 
followed, opened the mind of all Europe to a realization of 
the narrowness of its former point of view. New conti- 
nents inhabited by unheard of and unthought of races of 
people; conditions of life never before known to the civi- 
lized world, or if known, forgotten through centuries of 
artificiaUty; men living in freedom, without extreme or 
noticeable restrictions of law, and yet in reasonable har- 
mony and order — these were new conceptions which, 
though they by their suddenness struck hard and with 
stunning effect, yet cleared a new and immeasurably 
broader horizon, and brought out the contrast between 
the degenerating artificiality of civilization and the natural, 
original condition of man. And while it is true that tales 
and legends as wild as those brought back by the Argonauts 
to the Grecian world circulated for a century and more, 
and found fertile soil in the imaginations of Europeans, yet 
in the course of time and in the light of more definite in- 
formation, the public mind returned to a normal balance, 
and sifted out of the mass of reports, the facts that could 
be relied upon. The fountain of eternal youth became a 
healthy climate, fresh air, and cool springs; the fabulous 
rivers of gold took the form and shape of cultivated fields 
and limitless stretches of timber; and the phantastical, 
mythical race of beings resolved itself into a simple people, 
an example of human life close to nature. 

Then followed slowly the discovery of the folk-song 



Introduction 5 

and folk-poetry as the original language of pure human 
nature, and with it, all succeeding attempts to determine the 
true character of man. This movement, however, did not 
reach its climax until much later — in the eighteenth century 
and in the writings of the classical period of German 
literature. Experiences of the Moravian and Jesuit mis- 
sionaries among the American Indians and association with 
the wild tribes led to further investigations into their nature 
and customs. A feeling developed that civilization could 
be redeemed only by stripping it of all useless and vain 
conventionalities; and in order that this might be done, 
primitive man would have to furnish the model. Hence 
there followed a study of primitive man wherever he could 
be found, and a rehearsal of literature which dealt with 
primitive races. Herder translated the poems of Ossian, 
the Irish bard, the poetic efforts of the Finns and Lapps, 
and collected folk-lore from all nations. Goethe, in his 
W estostlicher Divan, turned to the primitive life of the 
Orient. Even Holderlin, in his Hyperion, had his hero, 
when all else failed him, seek after the *' inmost parts 
of Asia " and exclaim, ** Man cannot deny that he was once 
happy even as the deer in the forest; and after countless 
years there still glimmers within us a longing for the days 
of the primitive world, when everyone trod the earth 
like a god, before (I do not know what) tamed man; and 
when instead of walls and dead timber, the soul of the 
world, the holy atmosphere everywhere present, embraced 
him." ^ Homer and the primitive Greeks were studied with 
renewed energy and from an entirely different point of 
view. The Hebrews were investigated as a primitive people 
and new researches made in the Old Testament. Rousseau 
and his " back to nature " were a part of the same move- 

^ Holderlin: Gesammelte Dichtungen (Cotta), II, pp. 161, 162. 



6 Christianopolis 

ment. The literature of the eighteenth century is full of 
such expressions as " a whole man," " the complete man," 
" natural man," and the like. The whole problem was an 
effort to find the secret of happiness in man as he was put 
into the world, pure and uncontaminated by the artificial- 
ities and conventionalities of over-civilization. And further- 
more, now that the eyes of Europe were opened to the im- 
mensity of the newly discovered world, and a definite 
locality was provided where such plans could be realized, 
the Utopian idea sprang up again, and the distant islands 
of the sea ^ were represented as the homes of people living 

* An important and well represented type of literature had its 
origin in this movement — the Robinsonaden, first definitely 
represented by Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, including Robinson stories 
in all languages and literatures, and finally culminating in 
Schnabel's Insel Felsenburg. In a dissertation, Wackwitz (see 
bibliography) summarizes the forerunners of Defoe's Robinson 
Crusoe with a view toward determining his sources. Kippenberg 
(see bibliography) discusses the Robinson tales in Germany up to 
the appearance of Insel Felsenburg. Finally Briiggemann (see 
bibliography) in his Utopie und Robinsonade analyzes the two types 
of productions, lists the elements essential to each type, and shows 
the presence of both in such works as Histoires des Sevarambes of 
Vairasse, Robinson Crusoe, and Insel Felsenburg. In these discus- 
sions all three writers take notice of the purely political Utopias, 
and Briiggemann and Kippenberg make mention of Christianopolis. 

The Histoires des Sevarambes, Insel Felsenburg, to a certain 
extent even the Life of loris Pines, and other Robinson tales are 
composite productions. There is the shipwreck, the casting upon 
an uninhabited island of one or more persons, the gradual develop- 
ment and improvement of the place (thus far the pure Robin- 
sonade), and the ultimate forming of an ideal state, the Utopia. 

These two types as independent productions are mutually ex- 
clusive; the Robinsonade is necessarily ended when the ideal state 
begins, for, as the latter represents a condition of contentment 
from which outside elements are to be excluded, so the former 
pictures essentially an exile, no matter what sentimental reasons 
the individual or individuals may have for regretting departure 
when the rescuing ship finally comes. 

Bruggemann analyzes the Insel Felsenburg and selects as three 



Introduction 7 

under reformed systems of government, society, and edu- 
cation. It is not surprising that the new world with its 
freshness and weahh of beauty should have instilled life 
and vigor into the old. It is not strange that Europe should 
have been seized with a longing desire for homes in a new 

important factors of the whole, i) the motif of compulsory sep- 
aration from the world, 2) the feeling of safety in an asylum 
from the interferences of civilized society rather than that of 
exile from a desirable community, and 3) the problem of sex 
relations. While Andreae's Christianopolis is mentioned in Briigge- 
mann and Kippenberg, it is only to take passing notice and to add 
that Andreae has contributed little or nothing to the development 
of this class of literature. A few words will, therefore, not be 
out of place to show that the Christianopolis plays a more important 
part than has been heretofore shown. 

It is generally supposed that the shipwreck motif is common 
to all Utopias. Thus Hiillemann (II, p. 5), in attempting to 
prove Andreae's dependence upon More, mistakenly says : " Both 
ideal states are situated upon an island at which both authors arrive 
after having been shipwrecked." In Schlaraifia Politico (p. 122) 
it is stated concerning Bacon's New Atlantis: " Like all the other 
poets. Bacon tells us how a ship ... is struck by a storm 
and wrecked"; — and again (p. 94), this time speaking of the 
Christianopolis, " The description begins as usual with a ship- 
wreck." 

There is a Spanish account in 1609 of ^ shipwrecked mariner, 
one Serrano, whose experiences were reproduced by Happel in 1682 
in his Insulanischer Mandorell. The original (translated into Eng- 
lish in 1688 by Rycaut, and into German by Boll still later) has no 
features of a Utopia. The Tempest of Shakespeare (1610 at earliest) 
describes the landing of a shipwrecked party and the subsequent 
life of the survivors upon an island. This is probably (Introduction 
to editions of the Tempest by Hudson and by Boas) based upon 
the account of the wreck of a vessel in the Bermudas, which was 
printed in 1610. But in the history of Utopias there is no such ex- 
perience. More, in his narrative, simply "travels on and eventually 
reaches Utopia." Campanella's hero " is compelled to go ashore " 
(p. 5), and so arrives at Civitas Solis. Both are very vague. Of 
these early Utopias, Christianopolis alone clearly mentions the de- 
tails of the arrival of the traveler at the island and of all Utopias 
is the first to make use of the wreck. Bacon has no wreck at all, 



8 Christianopolis 

land. It was only natural that the literature of the time 
was crowded with Utopian ideas, and that a new impulse 
was given toward improving the corrupted civilization in 
which men were living. 

Thomas More is the first in this new period to give the 
world a picture of such an ideal state, and his Utopia is 
the beginning of a literature that played no small part in the 

but after Andreae it is an essential part of Utopias and Robinson 
stories. 

Of the three essential factors of Insel Felsenburg as pointed out 
by Briiggemann, sex plays no part in the Christianopolis in the sense 
in which it forms a " problem " in the Robinson stories. Neither 
is absolute " separation " from the outer world a possible factor, 
as the traveler is thrown upon an island whose inhabitants are 
already out of the " Robinsonade " stage. However, as is partially 
admitted in Briiggemann (Christianopolis, chaps, iv, v, vi), there 
is a strict examination which would eliminate all but a very small 
per cent of casual visitors; and the cordial invitation to return is 
extended at the close, only because this visitor has proved himself 
unusually fit to be an adopted citizen in Christianopolis. But 
Briiggemann (p. 151) is wrong (as also Voigt, p. 75) in attributing 
the impossibility of a " separation " motif to the allegorical char- 
acter of the Christianopolis, Just as certainly is it a gross injustice 
to the Christianopolis to say that " throughout the whole, more stress 
is laid upon laws than upon the individuals' interrelation and 
behavior, which latter condition is a result rather of the laws under 
which they live than of a natural, inner development" (Brugge- 
mann, p. 150). The spirit in Christianopolis is not that of 
the "narrow-mindedness of church prudery" (Briiggemann, p. 

Briiggemann, strangely enough, does not find in the Christianopolis 
suggestions of the very factors which he selects from the 
Sevaramhes as having influenced Insel Felsenburg after it ceases 
to be a Robinsonade. Yet Sevarambes is undoubtedly dependent 
upon the Christianopolis for many of these. First, there is the ship- 
wreck already mentioned. In the second division, " Human beings 
have a natural bent toward evil. Good laws and examples must 
overcome this, else the evil within will choke the good. The gov- 
ernment of the Sevarambes and the principles of education have, 
therefore, great influence upon the social life of the community" 



Introduction 9 

social and scientific programmes of the sixteenth and seven- 
teenth centuries. The sudden impetus given to science, the 
wonderful advance in this field in Italy, Germany, and 
England, produced a desire for a new and more practical 
system of education. In Germany the unsettled conditions 
of church and state, the feeling on the part of Protestants 
that the Reformation had not been a complete success, the 
counter-reformation among the Catholics, the fore-mutter- 
ings of the long struggle of the Thirty Years' War — these 
all combined to give impulse to reform. Speaking of this 
period and the forces which led to the production of the 
Utopias, W. Windelband says : " A new epoch of culture 
seemed to have been opened and an exotic agitation seized 
the imagination. Unheard of things were to be attained; 
nothing was to be impossible any more. The telescope 
unlocked the secrets of the heavens and the forces of the 
earth began to obey the investigator. Science strove to be 
the leader of human thought in its victorious course 

(Bruggemann, p. 156, Sevaramhes, p. 190, Christiano polls through- 
out). By the seventh year the children (girls as well as boys) are 
taken in charge by the state (Sevarambes, p. 192, Christiano polls, 
chap, liii). Ideas of community right {Sevarambes, p. 150, 
Christianopolls, chap, liii and elsewhere), rank not one of blood 
but of virtuous behavior (Sevarambes, p. 149, Christianopolls, chap. 
XX ), honesty and good example, the only heritage (Sevarambes, p. 
173, Christianopolls, chap, xx), and scores of others in the Utopia 
of Vairasse, find their exact duplicates in Christianopolls. And 
the conclusion, " The visitor leaves the land with the firm 
determination to return and spend his last days there " (Sevarambes, 
P- 359), already occurs almost verbatim in Christianopolls. In 
other words, the third factor, that of the " asylum " which 
Bruggemann finds (before Insel Felsenburg) primarily in Sevaram- 
bes, is as strongly emphasized in Christianopolls, half a century 
earlier. It seems clear, then, that the Christianopolls of Andreae 
gave considerable (and hitherto unacknowledged) incentive to, and 
furnished some of the essentials of the Robinsonade and par- 
ticularly of Schnabel's Insel Felsenburg, 



lo Christianopolis 

through nature. Through her discoveries human Ufe was 
to be completely transformed." ^ 

One of the first to divine the dawn of a new epoch in 
the history of human civilization and to give expression 
to the secret hopes and aspirations of his time by the 
creation of a Utopia was Johann Valentin Andreae,^ preacher 

* W. Windelband : Lehrbuch der Geschichte der Philosophic, IV, 
pp. 323 f^- 

^ The effect of Andreae's works on education will be emphasized 
in succeeding chapters. His relation to the past can be briefly told. 
The history of education from the Reformation to the 
beginning of the Thirty Years' War is to a great degree one of 
education in Germany. The educational reforms of Luther gave 
an impetus that could not easily be checked and that bore fruit 
most readily in his own country. After his, the names of Me- 
lanchthon, Sturm, Ratke; of Loyola, later of Campanella and Bacon, 
take prominent places. Andreae was a great admirer and a loyal 
follower of Luther. He speaks of him often and praises the 
work Luther did in church and school. But he seriously felt the 
need of a " second reformation " in both ; not a return merely to 
the teachings of Luther but, as civilization had a century of 
additional experiences, a step ahead, a better system for the next 
generation. Moreover, Andreae had the scheme for such an 
advance. While at the university, he planned a reform of educa- 
tional methods — his first published production and his last are 
pedagogical works. Nothing lay so near his heart or occupied 
so much of his time and energy as education. Bacon, in England, 
bent his energies on scientific research ; Comenius strove to im- 
prove the school systems. Andreae had elaborate and perfected 
plans for all phases of instruction, from the primary grades to 
the highest, for the individual and for the state, including develop- 
ment spiritual, intellectual, moral, and physical. 

Andreae, as has been said, was a staunch supporter of Luther's 
educational and religious doctrines, and a careful student of the 
whole field in the period following Luther. But he was not de- 
pendent upon these for all his material or his methods. 

Andreae's pedagogical principles, as outlined in the Christianopolis 
and Theophilus, show an advance over Luther (who influenced 
him most) — an advance as shown in a more complete and rounded- 
out system of education as well as in the subject-matter of the 
courses. Luther stood too much under the shadow of Humanism, 



Introduction ii 

and teacher at Vaihingen, Calw, and Stuttgart, founder of 
the " home " at Calw, traveler, writer, and finally general 
philanthropist. And his Utopia, Reipublicae Christiano- 
politanae Description shows originality in plan of govern- 
ment and education, as well as advancement and progress 
beyond its predecessors and indeed beyond some of its 
immediate successors in the field; while a decade earlier in 
his Fama Fraternitatis ^ he outlines a plan for scientific 
investigation and gives the model for a " college " or so- 
ciety of fellows which shall institute a " general reforma- 
tion " of the whole civilized world. Andreae's many-sided 
education and experiences, his deep interest in and clear in- 
sight into the affairs of men and humanity, his strong 
desire to uplift human society and to alleviate pain and 
suffering, gave his works recognition and careful considera- 

and was too deeply engrossed in the church of his time, to be 
able to see the value of the study of any foreign language except 
Hebrew and the classics. Hence, although his religious reforms 
embraced all nations, his educational system was much less cos- 
mopolitan. The educational system of Andreae, just as faithful and 
tried a Christian, is broader and considers the world. In questions 
of incentives, breadth of curricula, illustrative material, and like 
matters, he is far beyond his predecessors, while " he is the first 
who requires a regulated gymnasium" (Briigel, p. 174). It is 
with reference to matters of this kind that Vogt (p. 166) says, 
" Especially the elaborately developed pedagogical principles of 
Andreae are entirely his incontestable property." It must be 
added that many reforms existing merely " on paper " were 
revived by him. 

^ The Fama Fraternitatis, one of the so-called " Rosenkreutzer- 
schriften " of Andreae, is briefly outlined later (p. 72). The 
volume was received with the greatest enthusiasm, and soon ap- 
peared (Maack: Geheime Wissenschaften, Intro., xxxvii) in sev- 
eral languages: Latin, 1614; Dutch, 1615; FVench, 1616; Italian, 
1617; English, 1652. As will be shown in the course of the fol- 
lowing pages, Bacon and other English scientific investigators may 
easily have had access to the Latin or the French edition. For 
references to the Fama, see pp. 39, 54, 59, 72, 119, 120, 121. 



12 Christianopolis 

tion in his own day, and make them effective even to the 
present time and v^orthy of closer attention. His life and 
activity may be briefly outlined as follows : ^ 

Johann Valentin Andreae was born on the seventeenth 
of August 1586, the son of Johann Andreae, Dekan at 
Herrenberg and later Abt von Konigsbronn. After his 
father's death (Valentin was fifteen years old) the boy, ac- 
companied by his mother, whose quiet, religious temperament 
left an indelible stamp upon his life, moved to Tiibingen, 
where he spent six years at the university. These years 
were of the greatest importance to him. He perfected him- 
self in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew ; French, Spanish, Italian, 
and English. He also read widely in contemporary history 
and literature, and he became well acquainted with Eras- 
mus, Lipsius, Scaliger, Heinsius, and De Thou — the library 
of Christopher Besold being at his disposal at this time. 
Not the least of his interests was the study of mathematics 
under Mastlin, the teacher of Kepler. In 161 4 Andreae 
published a series of lectures. Collectanea Mathematica,^ 
and in several of his later educational writings, mathematics 
play an important part. He kept up a correspondence with 
Kepler till the latter's death. 

Not completing his work at Tubingen, Andreae spent 
seven years in travel. During these years, supporting him- 
self to a considerable extent by private tutoring, he visited 
Strassburg, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, and several towns in 
Switzerland. His stay in this country seems to have im- 
pressed him strongly. Andreae makes especial reference 
in his autobiography to the social conditions in Geneva ; but 

^ Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie; Realensyklopddie f. Pro- 
testantische Theologie u. Kirche; Andreae und sein Zeitalter, W. 
Hossbach; Andreae's Vita. 

^ Discussed at length by Carl Hiillemann : Valentin Andreae als 
P'ddagog, I. Teil. 



Introduction 13 

he could not tolerate the Calvinistic teachings. " If differ- 
ences in religion {religionis dissonantia) had not restrained 
me, the harmonious unity of their customs and morals {con- 
sonantia morum) would have bound me to the place for- 
ever." ^ And so he continued his wanderings, this time 
through France, Austria, and Italy. At last (1614) he ob- 
tained a position as Diakonus in Vaihingen, which he 
retained until 1620. Though full of trials and calamities, 
these years were among the most productive of his life. 
Some of his best works fall within or just before this period, 
as, for example, his Theophilus, which was composed during 
this time, though not published until 1649. He was outlin- 
ing the theories which he put into practice during the last 
half of his life. 

Next he was called to Calw on the Nagold, as Dekan and 
Spezialsuperintendent. Here he tried to establish a social 
system such as had existed in his imagination since his visit 
to Switzerland. He made his own congregation the starting 
point of his activities, and the children his material. Thence 
his efforts spread to the working classes in the city, whether 
in his church or not. He founded a mutual protective asso- 
ciation among the workmen in the cloth-factories and dye- 
works, and supported it from the voluntary subscriptions of 
his parishioners and friends. The organization exists to- 
day in flourishing condition and .is well endowed. At the 
time of the sack of Calw by Johann von Werth's troops in 
1634, and again four years later, Andreae lost heavily — not 
only in money and property, but especially from the destruc- 
tion of his private collection of valuable manuscripts, paint- 
ings, and other works of art. The year following the last 
raid, Andreae accepted the urgent invitation of Duke Eber- 
hardt HI and became Hofprediger and Consistorial-Rat 
at Stuttgart. All Wiirtemberg was in a state of absolute 
* Vita, p. 24. 



14 Christianopolis 

devastation. His task was to reestablish the Tiibinger Stift 
and the Gymnasium at Stuttgart, as well as to fill the many 
vacant pulpits with worthy men, and to provide for the 
support of the latter. His personal income was exceedingly 
scant; and it was only through the encouragement and 
material assistance of Duke August von Braunschweig- 
Liineberg that Andreae could support his family and the 
numerous refugees who always found a welcome in his 
home. After 1650 he withdrew to the Abtei von Beben- 
hausen, and four years later to that of Adelburg, where he 
died June the twenty-seventh of the same year. 

The works of Andreae to be especially considered are 
mentioned in the bibliography; of these the Descriptio 
and the Fama Fraternitatis are of greatest importance for 
the present purpose. The commentators whose opinions 
will be discussed in the following chapter are W. Hossbach/ 
Robert von Mohl,^ G. E. Guhrauer,^ Christoph Sigwart,* 
Carl Hiillemann,^ J. P. Glockler,® Schlaraifia Politica,'^ W. 
Gussmann,^ Andreas Voigt,^ Joseph Prys/^ J. Briigel/^ and 
C. Vogt.^2 Qf these the earlier ones take up the subject 
from a philosophical-religious point of view; while those 

^ Andreae und sein Zeitalter. 

'Die Staatsromane, in Geschichte u. Literatur d. Staatswissen- 
schaften, I, p. 165. 

® Der Erste Deutsche Staatsroman. 

^ Kleine Schriften, Freiburg i/B und Tiibingen. 

® Valentin Andreae als P'ddagog, I, II. 

^ Johann Valentin Andreae: ein Lebensbild, Stuttgart, 1886. 

' Anonymous : Geschichte der Dichtungen vom besten Staate, 
Leipzig, 1892. 

^ Reipublicae Christianop. Desc, in der ZkWL, Jahrg. 1886, pp. 
326 ff., Leipzig, 1886. 

^ Die Sodalen Utopien, Leipzig, 1906. 

^^ Der Staatsroman des 16. u. 17. Jahrhunderts u. sein Erziehungs- 
ideal, Wiirzburg, 1913. 

^^ Schmidt : Geschichte der Erziehung. 

^^ Euphorion, 1910, pp. 38-48. 



Introduction 15 

which come in the latter part of the nineteenth century or 
later, that is, since the rise and rapid development of the 
principles of socialism and communism, have for their evi- 
dent aim the lessons of common ownership and socialistic 
reform. To a considerable extent the prejudiced and er- 
roneously formed conclusion of Mohl ^ as to the relation of 
the Christiano polls to earlier Utopias, and the comments in 
SchlaraMa and of Sigwart have been taken over literally or 
in slightly modified form by most of the later writers on 
the subject. The number of arguments that have to be 
dealt with is, therefore, limited. 

It is the purpose of this investigation to prove i) That 
the Christiano polls is not a copy or direct imitation of 
earlier Utopias, but an independent and original production. 
2) That a close comparison of the Christiano polls with 
Francis Bacon's New Atlantis shows some striking simi- 
larities in form and content ; and that external circumstances, 
also, make a knowledge of the Christiano polls on the part 
of Bacon extremely probable. 3) That Nova Solyma, a 
Utopia appearing anonymously in 1648, attributed (1902) 
by the Rev. Walter Begley to John Milton, but since known 
to be the work of Samuel Gott, shows direct influence of the 
Christiano polls. And 4) that the principles of a general 
reformation in education and the plan of a " college " as 
outlined in the Christiano polls and other works of Andreae, 
were an important factor through J. A. Comenius, Samuel 
Hartlib, John Dury, and their associates, in the founding of 
the Royal Society of London. 

* Mohl came upon the German translation of the Christian op oils 
first, and not knowing the original, considered it a production of 
the eighteenth century — " the work of some pietist." Having once 
expressed an unfavorable opinion on the work, he did not see fit 
to withdraw the same even after Guhrauer discovered the real 
author. 



CHAPTER II 

MORE'S UTOPIA, CAMPANELLA'S CIVITAS 
SOUS, AND THE CHRISTIANOPOLIS 

Of the commentators mentioned in the introduction Carl 
Hiillemann ^ does not think that Gussmann and Briigel lay 
sufficient emphasis upon the influence of More's Utopia 
upon the Christiano polls. He cites a number of passages 
showing similarities between the two, chiefly in external 
matters such as the description of the town, houses, gar- 
dens, and so forth, and in a few details of daily customs 
and habits. He also shows that in some cases both authors 
used the same vocabulary in dealing with similar subjects. 
From this he draws the conclusion, " We see then that the 
Descriptio is only in part an imitation of More's Utopia, but 
for the rest a remodeling." ^ The author of Schlaraffia 
Politica would make More the *' father of all modern 
Utopias " and continues, '' For practically all sketches of 
ideal states, which have been written up to the present time, 
seem to be direct copies (Abklatsch) of the work of More." ® 

Robert von Mohl,* on the other hand, sees in the 
Descriptio only a recasting of Campanella's Civitas Solis. 
He admits that the contrast between real life in state and 
society, and a life based upon an exclusively religious-moral 
philosophy, would be an excellent motive for a work such as 

* Valentin Andreae als Pddagog, II. Teil. 
' P. 7. 

' P. 43. 

* Geschichte und Literatur der Staatswissenschaft, Bd. I, S. 
187 ff. 

16 



Utopia, Civitas Solis, and Christianopolis 17 

(he insists) Andreae tried to compose. But he denies the 
latter's poetic and imaginative ability to do so. *' Unfortu- 
nately the good Diakonus of Wiirtemberg did not know how- 
to handle the thought cleverly and with inspiration (Geist). 
He believed he had done enough when he had substituted 
pious reflection for the dissoluteness of the Calabrian, and 
the prosaic reality of an orthodox Protestant country for 
offensive institutions and the artificially-composed religions 
of the same. His imagination was not lively enough to 
embody his teaching in living forms. Excepting the fact 
that he introduces prayer meetings and the like into his 
Christianopolis, and that he quietly restores the order of 
marriage and family into Christian society, he depends al- 
most slavishly upon the Civitas Solis/' Mohl then cites a 
few points of similarity between the Christianopolis and 
the Civitas Solis — plan of the city and forms of govern- 
ment — and closes triumphantly with the argument, *' At 
any rate, Andreae's version (Oberarbeitnng) of the Civitas 
Solis is a book very little known; while the original is still 
being republished and translated." ^ 

Christoph Sigwart, careful and reliable as his criticism 
usually is, judges the Christianopolis harshly and, it must 
be added, very incorrectly when he says : " Inasmuch as 
temporal welfare and the abundance of material goods 
which serve its ends, not only have no value in themselves 
but are even dangerous to piety, every inner impulse to 
penetrate into the material activity of work is wanting; for 
where knowledge of the world is foolishness, and to know 
and love Christ the essence of all wisdom, a noble desire to 

* A revival of interest in the Christianopolis in the eighteenth 
century is evident from the German translation appearing in 1741, 
and again in 1754; and Herder saw in Andreae a prophet whose 
influence would be a blessing to any age. 



1 8 Christianopolis 

rule all nature wisely and aggressively must be lacking." ^ 
It is hoped that the falseness of this implication will be 
made clear in the succeeding pages. Sigwart, like Mohl, 
considers the Civitas Solis a pattern for the Christianopolis. 
" Andreae was given incentive to write an imitation of the 
Civitas Solis, setting up in his De scrip tio an ideal state on 
the principles of his Protestant-pious philosophy of life." ^ 

Andreas Voigt ^ likewise finds in the Christianopolis only 
an adaptation of Campanella's Catholic notions to the 
Protestant Church, and furthermore considers the work of 
only second-rate importance. " In all exterior matters," he 
says, '' especially in the form of the city, his (Andreae's) 
Utopia coincides with Campanella's. The inner differences 
are to be designated throughout as weaknesses and modera- 
tions, and besides, are based upon Andreae's stricter ad- 
herence to the doctrines of his church." 

Joseph Prys * also insists that in important questions, as 
in the pansophic character of intellectual education, the 
depreciation of the languages, emphasis upon teaching by 
observation of pictures, and so forth, Andreae coincides 
with Campanella. " The supposition (that is, of borrow- 
ing) becomes a certainty," he adds, '' when we remember 
that Andreae knew the Civitas Solis in manuscript form, 
and that it was first of all through this fact that he was 
given the incentive to write his prosaic Descriptio." Ex- 
ception will have to be taken also to the following : " Com- 
mon to both Utopias is a certain utilitarian tendency in 
their pedagogy. In the final analysis, education serves in 
both for the advancement and strengthening of the con- 

^ Kleine Schriften von Christ oph Sigwart, I, p. 175. 
^ Kleine Schriften von Christ oph Sigwart, p. 174. 
^ Die Sosialen Utopien, pp. 73 ff. 

^ Der Staatsroman des 16. u. 17. Jahrhunderts, p. 114, and p. 32 
of this chapter. 



Utopia, Civitas Solis, and Christianopolis 19 

trolling idea of government." ^ Reference will be made to 
this later. 

Carl Vogt, in his discussion of Johann Balthasar Schupp, 
devotes a number of pages,- to the relation of the Chris- 
tianopolis to other Utopias. His point of view seems 
clearest and perhaps least prejudiced of all commentators on 
this subject excepting, possibly, Briigel in his short but ex- 
cellent paragraph. He finds similarities in Civitas Solis and 
the Christianopolis as also in Plato, More, and Campanella, 
which he attributes more to the time or likeness in subject- 
matter than to literary dependence. He also grants that 
there are some features in the Nezv Atlantis which resem- 
ble the Christianopolis, although he is not willing to con- 
cede ^ evidence of any influence of Andreae upon Bacon. 
He sees a closer connection, for instance, between the New 
Atlantis and More's Utopia; but the passages* he cites in 
defense of his point of view are not convincing. Neither 
is his criticism of Kleinwachter's opinion ^ sufficiently 
defended. Furthermore, in his argument opposing the 
theory of an influence of Christianopolis upon New Atlantis, 
he seems to misinterpret a passage in Christianopolis.^ 
The passage in the examination does not read as he 
would have it, " Are you a member of the Rosicrucians ? ", 
but the government of Christianopolis must be constantly on 
guard not to admit into the city " beggars, jugglers . . . 
and impostors who falsely say they are Rosicrusians " 
(. . . impostoribus, qui se Roseae Crucis Fratres men- 
tirentur"), 

* Der Staatsroman dcs 16. u. 17. Jahrhunderts, p. 115. 
^ Euphorion, XVII, pp. 38-48. 

^ The statement that Bacon was influenced by Christianopolis is 
merely made without proof {Rcalcnzyklopddic f. Prat. Theol. u. K., 
3. Aufl., Bd. I, S. 507). 

* Euphorion, XVII, pp. 42, 43. ^ P. 38. ' Chap. iv. 



20 Christianopolis 

Now, it is hardly reasonable that the Descriptio should be 
an " exact copy " of both More and Campanella, espe- 
cially as the productions of these two differ in many re- 
spects from each other. On fhe contrary it is not very 
difficult to show that this statement is true in neither case. 
To offset the likenesses in detail, one might also suggest a 
number of radical differences in detail. More's island is 
crescent-shaped; Caphar Salama is triangular. The dimen- 
sions of the former are two hundred by five hundred miles ; 
the circumference of the latter but thirty thousand paces. 
Utopia includes fifty-four cities; Caphar Salama only 
one. The cities of Utopia are one-man governments at 
whose head stands a prince; the government of Chris- 
tianopolis is a triumvirate, this being considered safer and 
more fair. Common tables are the custom in the Utopia. 
In the Descriptio each family eats alone, to avoid confusion 
and waste of time. The Utopia has an elaborate system of 
slavery; in the Christianopolis all citizens are free. In the 
Utopia the dead are burned; in the Descriptio they are 
buried. Though we read that " they detest war as a brutal 
thing," ^ the Utopia lays great emphasis upon preparations 
and methods of conducting it, devoting, in fact, one-tenth of 
the whole work thereto ; yet it passes over education in a 
few words. In the Descriptio, war is hardly mentioned, 
while education of the youth and scientific research per- 
meate almost every chapter. The religion of the one is a 
confused mixture ; the other is a Christian state. And the 
ethical standards throughout, hardly admit of comparison. 

Campanella gives no description of the island on which 
his Civitas Solis lies. His Genoese sea-captain " is com- 
pelled to go ashore " and, on emerging from a wood, " finds 
himself on a large plain." His city is circular and built on 
* More's Utopia, p. 75. 



Utopia, Civitas Solis, and Christianopolis 21 

the slope of a hill. Seven concentric walls give repeated 
means of defense against an enemy. One ruler has supreme 
authority, temporal and spiritual, over all. He settles all 
disputes. Boys learn the sciences from magistrates by ob- 
serving pictures, " without toil and as if for pleasure." 
Marriage and love are based on the principle of advantage 
to the state, not to the individual. The Utopia and Civitas 
Solis are in dialogue form; the Descriptio is a letter, in 
which the writer tells his own personal experiences. 
Such teachings and practices as, respect toward one's 
elders, hospitality to strangers and travelers, simplicity in 
dress and manners of life, moderation in all things, 
and so forth, — these are very naturally common to all 
Utopias. 

That Andreae knew both More and Campanella is cer- 
tain. He mentions the former in his introduction to the 
Descriptio. In 1619 he translated several of Campanella's 
sonnets ; ^ and speaks of him as " the talented, untiring, 
heroic champion against the heathen Aristotle " ^ and 
against all hypocrites, sophists, and tyrants.^ With the 
manuscript of the Civitas, Andreae became acquainted in 



* Sigwart, p. 174. 

^ Gussmann, p. 437. 

' Campanella in a poem, probably one of those translated by 
Andreae, speaks of himself as " born to fight Tyranny, Sophistry, 
and Hypocrisy." In his Die Christenburg (see Griineisen in Zeit- 
schrift fi'ir die historische Theologie, VI, pp. 239, 246, 257), An- 
dreae introduces the three chief generals of the enemy as Tyrannus, 
Hypocrita, and Sophista. The composition of this epic poem ante- 
dates Andreae's translation of Campanella's sonnets several years. 
In the introduction of the Christianopolis (p. 11, p. 136 in the ap- 
pended translation) he speaks of hypocrisy as having usurped the 
place of religion, tyranny that of government, and sophistry that 
of letters. And it is to escape the dominion of these three that 
the hero in the Christianopolis undertakes his journey (chap. i). 



22 Christianopolis 

1619 through his friend Tobias Adami, who, being Cam- 
panella's editor, was at that time having the manuscript 
printed in Germany as a part of Philosophia Realis} 

But the chief differences between the v/orks of More and 
Campanella as compared with Andreae, are not to be super- 
ficially sought in such external characteristics as those men- 
tioned above. The plan and conception of the three seem to 
be essentially different. . 

More was closely in touch with political conditions in 
England and on the Continent. Political reform and his 
favorite principle of communism are the nucleus of his 
Utopia, and in direct connection with this principle is the 
problem of the source of supply for the necessities of life. 
Hence More makes agriculture the chief occupation, and 
states that while there are various trades and crafts, agri- 
culture is known to all; and all have training therein, in 
school and in the fields. 

The Utopia is written in two books, the first of which 
consists of a discussion carried on by three persons, as to 
what constitutes the best form of government, and what 
practices are undesirable. Two abuses are especially cen- 
sured — exorbitant taxes intended to swell the coffers of 
wasteful monarchs, and monopoly of land and property 
granted to privileged classes. So there are rehearsed the 
various methods of collecting money from the general pub- 
lic — methods common in England in More's own time. And 
the Genoese captain is quoted as saying, " To speak my 
real sentiments plainly, I must freely own that as long as 
there is any property, and while money is the standard of 
all other things, I cannot think that a nation can be gov- 
erned either justly or happily." ^ This leads directly to a 

^ Dr. Emanuel Wessely: Der Sonnenstaat, Introduction, vi. 
' P. 30. 



Utopia, Civitas Solis, and Christianopolis 23 

description of the government of Utopia, where " people 
are governed better than anywhere else." And at the 
close, as a summary of the whole, four pages are devoted 
to a rehearsal of the reasons for the happiness of the 
Utopians, the trend of which is the following : " Thus I 
have described to you, as particularly as I could, the con- 
stitution of that commonwealth, which is the only com- 
monwealth deserving the name. In all other places it is 
noticeable that while people talk of common wealth, every- 
one seeks his own wealth. But in Utopia there is no un- 
equal distribution ; and though no man has anything, yet 
they are all rich." ^ It is not difficult to see the chief point 
in More's mind. 

Just what is the model for the Civitas is not very clear. 
Of the various interpretations, Gussmann agrees with Sudre 
when the latter says: ''The monastery is the model for 
his (Campanella's) social organization. The priestly power 
and the church hierarchy are the foundation for the gov- 
ernment of his new society. The sun-cities are groups of 
cloisters in which men and women live under a strict sys- 
tem of government." - 

It must be admitted that parallels are not wanting. The 
head authority (Metaphysicus), as has been said, the judge 
in matters of both church and state, represents the pope, 
he with his three subordinate rulers appointing the rest. 
While political freedom and religious toleration are re- 
peatedly mentioned, both are restricted by law and custom. 
Occasionally one even finds a phrase or sentence which 
smacks decidedly of the cloister — as when describing the 
common dining-room, " On one side sit the women and 

' P. 95. 

* W. Gussmann : Reipuhlicae Christian opolitanae Descriptio, in 
der ZkWL, Jahrg. 1886, p. 439- 



24 Christianopolis 

on the other the men; and, as in the refectories of the 
monks, there is no noise." ^ 

As in the Utopia, common ownership of property is an 
important feature. But carrying the point to a greater 
extreme, Campanella would make women part of the 
'' Gemeingut " of the state. And his point of view is very 
clear. In the Civitas the individual exists for the state, not 
the state for its citizens. Hence, that the state may "be of a 
high standard physically and intellectually, that it may be 
able to defend itself against possible attack, that the race 
may continue to be powerful, he has those in authority mate 
men and women, even as cattle are bred, considering only 
physical and temperamental characteristics, and thus assur- 
ing a stalwart offspring; for sexual love, as we have it be- 
tween husband and wife, is not known. Should a man and 
a woman be inspired with a natural feeling of love, " it is 
permitted them to converse, joke, crown each other with 
wreaths and garlands, and even to write verses in one 
another's honor." But in general " they know in their love 
nothing other than feelings of friendliness." ^ 

While at the Dominican monastery of Stilo, Cam- 
panella — then about seventeen years of age — met an old 
rabbi to whom he felt strangely attracted. During the week 
they spent together, Campanella was instructed in the mys- 
teries of the occult sciences — alchemy, astrology, and magic. 
Of these astrology exerts the strongest influence in the 
Civitas of Campanella. On the walls of the temple, 
representations of the stars are to be seen; and verses de- 
scribing their size, courses, and secret influences are added.^ 
Another set of verses explains the homes of trees and 
plants, their chief characteristics and their relation to the 
stars. Trees are planted by the gardeners, cattle are bred 

^ Sonnenstaat, p. 22. ' P. 30. ^ P. 10. 



Utopia, Civitas Solis, and Christianopolis 25 

by their care-takers/ — even men and women are allowed 
to mate, only when certain heavenly bodies are in conjunc- 
tion. Inventions and scientific discoveries are made,^ 
calamities are averted,^ — in fact '' we do all things under 
the influence of the heavens." * As More's Utopia closes 
with a lengthy summary, which is to a great extent an 
elaboration of the principles of communism, so the closing 
pages of the Civitas are a tribute to the accomplishments of 
astrology — beginning with an exclamation on the part of 
the sea-captain, *' O, if you but knew what they have learned 
from astrology . . . ! " 

The question is raised by Voigt ^ whether the Descriptio 
is to be considered at all seriously, or whether Andreae 
intended that it should be taken in a purely allegorical 
sense. In support of the latter hypothesis, Voigt quotes a 
fable of Andreae's in which Truth, wandering about 
nakedly, and complaining of ill-treatment at the hands of 
those whom she would like to assist, is given this advice 
by Aesop : " Clothe your form in fable and fairy-tale, and 
you will be able to do your duty by God and man." ^ Voigt 
continues :'" If Andreae was here thinking of his Descriptio, 
then we cannot class the latter with those Utopias which 
were intended to represent a practical execution of an 
ideal; but we must rather look upon it as a mere poetic 
expression of his wishes." 

Andreae learned early that the safest and most certain 
way to fix an argument and to secure the acceptance of 
a doctrine, is to give it a touch of poetic fancy. In com- 
menting on this characteristic. Herder says : " All that 
Andreae writes takes the form of the fable — the expression 
in clever garb (Einkleidung) ; he speaks truths to which 

^P. 45. 'P. 67. 'P. 70. *P. 68. 

" Die Sozialen Utopien, p. 75. 

• Andreae : Apologorum Christianorum Manip., VI, No. 29. 



26 Christianopolis 

we hardly venture to give utterance now, after a hundred 
years' advancement. He speaks them with as much love 
and honesty, as brevity and sagacity; so that even yet he 
stands new and fresh in this quarreling, heretical century, 
and blooms in delicate fragrance like a rose among thorns/' ^ 
We need only refer to the Fama Fraternitatis, the Con- 
fessio, Die Christenburg, or the Chymische Hochzeit. Is 
this sufficient reason for concluding that Andreae was not 
serious, nor hoped to outline a plan according to which a real 
social community and city government could exist ? Or shall 
we think that Bacon was not in earnest with his Utopia, when 
he called it " The Fable of the New Atlantis " ? In ex- 
plaining his purpose in the use of satire in the Menippus, 
Andreae says : " I call upon God to witness that I have not 
persecuted anyone, nor made sport at the expense of an- 
other, wantonly; but the cause of Christianity lay near my 
heart, and I desired to advance that cause by all means. 
As I could not do this directly, I tried a roundabout method 
— not, as it seemed to some, for the love of satire as many 
pious people do; but that I might accomplish something by 
means of jest and biting wit, and inspire love for Chris- 
tianity." ^ Shall we regard More less seriously because his 
Utopia is an ill-concealed satire on the conditions existing 
in his own country? This view would seem to be just as 
unwarranted as that of Mohl when he, going quite to the 
other extreme, accuses Andreae of a substitution of the 
'' prosaic realities of an orthodox-protestant country " for 
Campanella's more imaginative efforts, and denies a suffi- 
cient tact and spirit (Geist) on Andreae's part to handle 
the subject.^ As a matter of fact, the two decades he spent 

^Glockler: Johann Valentin Andreae: ein Lehenshild, p. 42. 
(Quotation adapted from Herder, XVI, pp. 591 ff., and Teutscher 
Merkur, March, 1782.) "" Vita, p. 46. 

* Geschichte u. Literatur d. Staatswissenschaft, p. 188. 



Utopia, Civitas Solis, and Christianopolis 27 

at Calw as Dekan and Spezialsuperintendent, represented a 
continuous effort, in spite of the most discouraging condi- 
tions, to put into execution the ideals which he had long 
cherished and which he had stated in his Utopia. His efforts 
were not successful. The Thirty Years' War sapped the 
life and strength of the community, but his perseverance 
and his renewed efforts, after each interference, to realize 
the very principles taught in the Descriptio, give evidence 
of the place the latter held in his own opinion. There is 
reason to believe that More, Campanella, and Bacon, as well 
as Andreae, looked upon their respective Utopias as the em- 
bodiment of the teachings they desired to give to the world. 
In his autobiography ^ Andreae gives the following very 
interesting and suggestive description of the impression 
made upon him by conditions at Geneva — which city he 
visited on his journey of 1610. " When I was in Geneva, I 
made a notable discovery, the remembrance of which and 
longing for which will die only with my life. Not alone 
is there in existence an absolutely free commonwealth, 
but as an especial object of pride (ornamentum) a censor- 
ship of morals (disciplina) in accordance with which in- 
vestigations are made each week into the morals and even 
into the slightest transgressions of the citizens — first by the 
supervisors of the wards, then by the aldermen, and finally 
by the magistrate, according as the case demands. As a re- 
sult, all cursing, gambling, luxury, quarreling, hatred, con- 
ceit, deceit, extravagance, and the like, to say nothing of 
greater sins, are prevented. What a glorious adornment — 
such purity of morals — for the Christian religion ! With 
our bitterest tears we must lament that this is lacking and 
almost entirely neglected with us ; and all right-minded men 
must exert themselves to see that such is called back to 
^ Vita, p. 24. 



28 Christianopolis 

life." One cannot help feeling that this " ideal state " of 
affairs — as it seemed to him — was the germ which gave in- 
centive to his efforts of succeeding years. And there can 
be little doubt that his ideas of a Utopia date from this 
time, especially as his De scrip tio paints just such a pic- 
ture of moral purity as here described. 

The introduction of the Christianopolis is by no means 
its least interesting or suggestive division. Andreae sees 
two classes of persons in the world, one class composed of 
those who constantly admire and defend conditions as they 
exist; the other, of those who bear patiently the burdens 
which are heaped upon them, but who continually sigh for 
an improvement of society. The one in its misguided zeal 
keeps stirring up trouble and confusion, but accomplishes 
nothing ; the other by sense and modesty acts as a conserva- 
tive balance. Some have thought that God purposely permits 
the one class to be covered by mental darkness, that those 
who see the light from above may, when matters arrive at 
too evil a stage, overturn the corrupt system. And this is 
actually what was done by Dr. Luther, when his pleadings 
for reform were not heeded. In the meantime another dark- 
ness has fallen upon Christians; the success of the former 
reformation is not complete. There is need of another 
" general reformation " which shall accomplish what was 
missed before. The Devil is trying to persuade even Chris- 
tians that no further efforts are necessary. But greed, ex- 
travagance, envy, laziness, and a whole catalogue of sins 
have again crept into the lives of men. Some still retain 
the light of the new religion, a proper conception of learn- 
ing and art, of the rules of daily life ; ^ but these are sur- 
rounded by tyrants, sophists, and hypocrites. Recently 

* Andreae mentions several of these reformers, and includes 
Johann Arndt, to whom he dedicates the book. 



Utopia, Civitas Solis, and Christianopolis 29 

when a so-called " Bruderschaft " ^ was suggested, whose 
teachings were exactly the reform the world needs, — what a 
disturbance was created among those who feared the over- 
throw of their power, and an abolishment of their deceitful 
performances, juggleries, and sophistries. And when it was 
discovered that the " Fraternitas " was secret and could not 
include the world in general, and when people became con- 
fused as to its real meaning, then one praiseworthy man 
called out, " Why do we wait for the coming of such a 
fraternity? Let us rather make a trial ourselves of that 
which seems good to us." Whereupon Andreae suggests 
the possibility of persons forming together a community 
where the principles of right living and freedom may be 
practiced, unhampered by the enemy. " An example of 
this rest and safety " is to be found in the lives of the 
inhabitants of Christianopolis now to be described, — 
not merely as they ought to be, but as they actually live. 
No one is compelled to come to this place ; but all who desire 
to do so, if found to be of proper character, are welcome. 
This invitation is repeated at the close of the work when 
the pilgrim returns to his native land, and at parting from 
the inhabitants of the island, asks permission to return and 
bring along his friends. 

A beautiful opening chapter, which probably is partly 
responsible for the opinions of some, that the Christianopolis 
is a mere allegory, introduces the hero, a stranger in the 
realm of the authorities of tyranny, false art, and hypocrisy, 
as about to set out anew upon the ''Mare Academicum '* in 
search of enlightenment and a peaceful abode. The weather, 
fair and favorable at first, soon begins to darken; and the 
ship, '' Phantasia," is beaten about by the storms of envy 

^ Andreae refers to the so-called Rosicrucian brotherhood. 



30 Christianopolis 

and slander, driven into the sea of darkness, and finally 
wrecked. 

Caphar Salama ^ is the island upon which one of the sur- 
vivors of the wreck is thrown. Before he can be taken up 
into the city, he is subjected to a close examination ^ by 
each of three officials. This is an entirely new feature in 
Utopias, and serves among other things to give the im- 
pression of a more complete and finished production. Later 
Utopias make use of and expand this point. The first ex- 
amination is preliminary, and a satisfactory conclusion of 
the same is necessary before the visitor may be fed or 
refreshed. This is a guard against the admittance of tramps 
and professional beggars. The second examiner^ is with- 
out peer in shrewdness and abilityto read character. It is 
his duty to obtain information regarding the stranger's 
family, history, manner of life, health, and so forth. He 
makes no pretensions toward learning, but leaves this field 
to the third.* This examination proves to be the most 
embarrassing of all. The visitor, though by self-confession 
a scholar, finds himself irretrievably beyond his depths in 
the discussions of language, art, science, investigation, 
natural history, as also in that of charity, church, and the- 

* The name is that of a village in Palestine noted on account of 
the battle in which Judas Maccabaeus conquered Nicanor (Wahl: 
Clavis Librorum Vet. Test. Apochrif. Philol., Lips, 1853, p. 497). 
Reference to the battle is found in Macca., I, pp. 7, 31. O. Kemper 
{Der Inselname Capharsalama in J. V. Andreae's Schrift, Christian- 
opolis, M. C. G., VIII, p. 186) has traced the history and interpreted 
the meaning of this term. He defines the Hebrew words respectively 
as " place," " spot," or " village," and " salvation " or " peace," and 
the combination as " Friedensdorf ," or "village of peace." This, 
with the term " Hierosolyma " (Jerusalem, Friedensstadt), which 
Andreae uses in the introduction to Christianopolis, referring to his 
" minuta colonia," and again in his Vita, pp. 258, 278, is entirely 
in keeping with the purpose of his Utopia as expressed therein. 

"" Chap. iv. ^ Chap. v. * Chap. vi. 



Utopia, Civitas Solis, and Christianopolis' 31 

ology. He is now given an escort of three men who accom- 
pany him upon a tour of inspection and instruct him in 
all matters. An examination into the facts thus obtained 
and an analysis of material used will help give an idea of 
Andreae's conception of an ideal state, and will be a second 
proof of the comparative lack of dependence, in essentials, 
upon More and Campanella. 

The most important and the most oft-recurring theme in 
the Christianopolis is that of education and training of the 
youth, and it is this which contains most of Andreae's 
personality. The teaching profession ^ is highly honored, 
and rightly. For instructors are not chosen from the lower 
classes — men who have not the ability to be useful in other 
lines, and who are therefore willing to teach for little pay — 
but they are selected on account of being remarkable for 
character and information. The teachers are of reason- 
able age, clean in life, upright, industrious, and gentlemen in 
every way. They are equipped with skill, shrewdness, and 
sense, and the ability to apply these virtues. For the citi- 
zens of Christianopolis realize that to intrust their sons and 
daughters to worthless or careless instruction, is to ruin 
the individual and the state as well. " For certain it is that 
no ones serves youth well except he likewise be able to care 
for the state ; and he who proves himself of value to youth, 
has already benefited the state." Boys and girls are sent 
to the boarding school at six years of age. Parents do not 
hesitate to send their children from home, for they have the 
best possible care and attention. Education is threefold: 
worship of God with a pure soul, practice of a moral life, 
intellectual development. Boys recite in the morning, girls 
in the afternoon. The other half of the day is spent in 
mechanical occupation and household science and art. 

* Chap. Hi. 



32 Christianopolis 

Their physical training consists of running, wrestling, rid- 
ing, fencing, throwing, and the like. 

Intermediate education ^ is given in institutions of fine 
arts, classed as schools of grammar, rhetoric, and languages. 
Foreign — modern and ancient — languages are studied and 
learned much more rapidly than in other countries. The 
chief object is not so much the attainment of learning as a 
means of boastfulness, but the ability to hold intercourse 
with other peoples, '' both the living and the dead." This is 
a chapter out of Andreae's life. With all his study of sci- 
ence, mathematics, and theology at Tubingen, he was deeply 
interested in foreign languages, ancient and modern; so 
that before he was out of university, he was master of seven 
or eight. He gives as one object of his trip through France 
in 1610, the chance it would give to perfect himself in 
French. Prys is hardly justified ^ in comparing the Chris- 
tianopolis with Civitas Solis on the basis of lack of apprecia- 
tion of the value of languages. On the contrary, in An- 
dreae's state it is required that all pupils perfect themselves 
in languages, as has already been seen. However, it is 
considered a serious mistake to neglect the mother tongue. 
For in this a student will express himself most naturally, 
and natural development of the mind and soul are especially 
to be desired. In rhetoric and oratory the same argument 
carries weight. While eloquent speakers and forceful writ- 
ers are trained, mere polish and beauty of address are 
scorned. 

Advanced studies are pursued in seven other auditoria 
or lecture halls. Dialectics, metaphysics, and theosophy may 
be studied in the second. The practical application of a 
good method is the aim of dialectics. Observation of the 
True, the Good, and the Beautiful, of unity and harmony, is 

^ Chaps. Iv, Ivi, Ivii. ^ Der Staatsroman, p. 114. 



Utopia, Civitas Solis, and Christianopolis 33 

the essence of metaphysics. Theosophy is the highest form 
of this group. '' Where nature ends, theosophy begins ; it is 
the last resort, the finding in God what cannot be obtained 
by physical experiment." And only a few, comparatively, 
attain this. What fools men are who try to prove through 
Aristotle what God alone can fathom! Here Andreae 
proves that he is neither a sophist nor an unreasoning be- 
liever in astrology or alchemy. His philosophy of life is 
suggested in a number of instances throughout this and 
other works : Gain all possible information by sensible and 
reliable experiment and investigation; but thereafter leave 
the impossible, and accept nature and God. 

The third auditorium is that of mathematics. Arithmetic, 
algebra, geometry, surveying, and mystic numbers are im- 
portant as affording good mental training and also for 
their practical use when applied to the experiences of every- 
day life. Under the term *' secret and mystic numbers " 
are not meant the cabalistic and deceiving combinations of 
jugglers, but rather the proportions of higher mathematics, 
then but dimly understood. " Harmony," *' symmetry," 
" measurements of calculation " are favorite terms with An- 
dreae to suggest the divine plan of the universe. He dis- 
tinctly states here and elsewhere that faith in God, and not 
in superhuman endeavor, must be the test of our efforts. 
'' Into these matters which seem to give forth such bril- 
liant light let us not pry, unless the light of Christ leads 
the way and calls us into the sealed secret." ^ 

Music 2 is treated scientifically and artistically. This is 
the fourth division. A knowledge of mathematics is an 
essential requisite. Combination of tones — harmony — is 
practiced, and produces almost unbelievable results. Musi- 
cal instruments are manufactured and kept on hand — all pos- 

* Chap. Ixiii. * Chaps. Ixiv, Ixv, Ixvi. 



34 Christianopolis 

sible kinds and of the finest quality. Hardly a citizen can 
be found who does not play one or the other of them. The 
voice is not neglected. But vocal music is restricted almost 
entirely to sacred song. The chorus is splendid, and passes 
singing through the streets of the city each week. 

Astronomy and astrology are the departments of the 
fifth auditorium, and these are treated in close relation- 
ship to each other.^ It is of importance to observe the 
heavens and the heavenly bodies; for man is directly de- 
pendent upon them for light, heat, rain, and so forth. 
He would be a fool, according to Andreae, who would 
deny the practical use of such a science; but there is so 
much difference of opinion and quarreling among sci- 
entists as to the mystical effect of the planets upon human 
beings, that the inhabitants of Christianopolis think it 
safer to I'jck toward the spiritual heavens than upon the 
visible, for prophetic information. One brief sentence will 
serve to explain. '' Experience strengthens faith, but rea- 
son is ever in doubt and confusion." Andreae is here en- 
tirely consistent with his views as expressed in other writ- 
ings and, though he lived in an age when the wisest were 
strongly affected,^ is singularly free from contamination 
with the extreme teachings of astrology and alchemy. 

Natural history,^ secular and church history furnish the 
subject-matter for the teachings of the sixth lecture hall. 
'' It is needless to tell why they are so interested in natural 
history, since the very necessity of the science demands it. 
For through it we arrive at a general, as well as a specific, 
exact knowledge of the world ; and investigate the move- 
ments, characteristics, behavior, and passions of creatures; 
what are the elements, form, measure, place, and time .of 

* Chaps. Ixvii, Ixviii. ^ See page 121, footnote 2. 

^ Chaps. Ixx, Ixxi, Ixxii. 



Utopia, Civitas Solis, and Christianopolis 35 

things; how the heavens are moved, the elements are 
mixed, how things grow, what metals are useful. . . !* 
Natural history accompanies the science of human his- 
tory — the relation of the experiences of man. 

Ethics, political science, and Christian humility are in 
the seventh auditorium. Theology, gift of prophecy, and 
sanctification are in the eighth. Three principles stand out 
in the political and public life of Christianopolis : preserving 
the peace, equality of citizens, and contempt for large pos- 
sessions. The practice of these principles guards the state 
and its citizens against the three greatest evils : war, slavery, 
and corruption in public affairs. The school of prophecy 
is intended not to teach the ability to prophesy, as has de- 
ceived so many, but to observe the harmony and truth of the 
prophetic spirit, as well as to be able to interpret the work- 
ings of the holy spirit and recognize inspiration from above. 

The library, the armory, and the college must yet be 
mentioned as important features of the town.^ The two 
former are in the central keep, and are opposite each other. 
The one is a storehouse of learning. Ancient books, lost 
to Europeans, are to be found here. Most of the citizens, 
however, care for only a few reliable books (including, of 
course, the Bible), and prefer to get knowledge directly 
from the " book of nature." The armory might better be 
called a museum. While cannon and guns are on hand in 
great numbers and ready for use in case of need, they are 
looked upon with horror, and the necessity for their useful- 
ness is considered an invention of the Devil. 

*' Now it were time that we should approach the very 

center of the city, which you might well call its soul and 

life, . . . Here religion, justice, and learning have their 

abode, and theirs is the control of the city. They have elo- 

^ Chaps, xxxviii, xxxix, xxvi. 



36 Christianopolis 

quence associated with them as their interpreter. Never 
have I seen such an amount of human perfection collected 
in one place, a fact which you will all acknowledge as 
soon as you have heard the description." ^ 

The art of painting is very highly prized. Like Cam- 
panella, Andreae has his city thoroughly fitted out with 
paintings. Even the private rooms of the school children 
are appropriately adorned. Furthermore, taking a decided 
step forward, Andreae causes painting to be taught to the 
youth as an auxiliary to his education. The pupils im- 
prove their time with the brush, as one form of recreation, 
while among us, time is wasted in cards, dice, and so 
forth. To this, architectural drawing is added, and all neces- 
sary instruments are supplied. It should be noted that in 
the Civitas of Campanella the observation of pictures is the 
education ; and it is distinctly stated that pupils learn " as in 
play and without any effort on their part." ^ This is, in the 
extreme, a dangerous method. Education, by means of 
sugar-coated and predigested capsules of knowledge, is too 
much the tendency in our own day. Andreae could give us 
a wholesome warning. His young people, it is true, use 
pictures for illustration, but they make their own illustrative 
material, and learn by trial and experiment.^ 

The introduction of experimental investigation and in- 
ductive teaching in Utopias, practically begins with An- 
dreae; and this is the foundation of his chapters on science 
and invention. Among these are descriptions of the labora- 
tory,* the drug shop,^ anatomy,^ the theater of physics,'' the 
study of nature,^ and medicine.^ 

* The college will be further discussed in succeeding chapters. 

" Sonnenstaat, p. 13. ® Chap. xlvi. 

^ Chap, xlviii. "^ Chap, xlvii. 

* Chap. xliv. ^ Chap. Ixx. 

' Chap. xlv. ® Chap. Ixxix, 



Utopia, Civitas Solis, and Christianopolis 37 

Religion is the leaven of Caphar Salama, for its colony- 
is a practical Christian city. There is no hypocrisy nor 
compulsion. The inhabitants are here by choice, and live 
voluntarily according to the principles of the Christian 
religion. Freedom, the keynote of government, is also the 
essence of the religious life. Religion has taken up her 
abode here to escape persecution.^ Though Andreae's worst 
experiences came later than 1619, persecution and the hor- 
rors of a religious war were not unknown to this time. 
And the name of his " place of refuge " already referred to,^ 
is typical of his own lifelong desire for a home of religious 
peace and rest. 

Two plates of bronze, one ^ giving at some length the 
confession of faith, and the other * setting forth the aims 
and rules of daily life, are publicly posted — not merely 
that visitors may become acquainted with their creed, but 
that the latter may be ever before the inhabitants. Herein 
they pledge themselves to a pure, temperate, and active life, 
subject only to the commands of Christ and His representa- 
tives. As will be naturally supposed, prayer takes an im- 
portant place — at the tables, in school, and in all meetings ; a 
fact which gives occasion for Mohl's ironical remark already 
referred to, namely, that Andreae merely adds " prayer 
meetings," and for the rest, copies Campanella directly. 

With such principles of education and religion, the gov- 
ernment and social and family life of Christianopolis will 
be readily understood. The officials are not feared but 
respected. Their offices are performed in kindness and co- 
operation. A direct influence of the government of Geneva 
(as quoted above from Andreae's Vita) is found in the 

* Chap. iii;pp. 58, 59 of the following chapter. 

* See footnote i, p. 30 of this chapter. 

' Chap, xxviii. * Chap. xxix. 



38 Christianopolis 

description of the office of chief judge.^ This individual 
makes it his business, and it is also his pride, to guard 
against the temptations that come to the citizens, and to 
help them to resist the same. Lawsuits ^ do not occur, as 
property rights are not involved. The jurists are teachers 
of political science and Roman law. They are the official 
scribes of the community. The senators ^ are truly old, wise 
men. They study carefully the history of the past and look 
ahead to plan and meet emergencies. 

The family is the unit of social life. Chastity is the high- 
est virtue, and transgressions are abhorred and punished. 
Marriage is a sacred institution. There being no property 
endowment, the emphasis is laid upon character and per- 
sonal worth. Moderation in the relations between husband 
and wife is practiced — there is such a thing as chastity even 
in married life. " The crown of woman is motherhood, in 
the discharge of which duty she takes precedence of all 
heroes of the world." * If one compares the delicacy of 
Andreae's chapters relating to woman, with the almost 
bestial principles of the purely physical marriage in the 
Civitas, an idea of the difference in ethical tone which per- 
vades the two works will be obtained. It is not the liberal 
and modern '' eugenic " view of Civitas Solis, readjusted to 
the " prosaic monotony of an orthodox-protestant town," but 
fundamental diflferences in the spiritual make-up of the two 
men. Though nowhere as noticeable as in these chapters, 
yet the difference of standards and fineness of feeling are 
evident throughout. 

If, in looking over the content of the Christianopolis, those 
features are selected upon which Andreae lays most stress, 
and which for him form the essential parts of an ideal state, 
and condense them into groups, the following will appear: 

^ Chap, xxxiii. ^ Chap. Ixxx. ^ Chap, xciii. * Chap. xc. 



Utopia, Civitas Solis, and Christianopolis 39 

education, science, and investigation ; religion, music, and 
art; government and social connections. A comparison 
of the above headings with the emphasized factors in the 
Utopia and the Civitas Solis, and also the method of treat- 
ment of these items, will show, i) that between the Chris- 
tianopolis and the Utopia there is slight or partial agree- 
ment only in some matters of social laws, government, and 
religion, though even in these fields the differences are 
greater than the likenesses; 2) that the Civitas lays em- 
phasis upon objective methods of teaching, failure of the 
Aristotelian method, scientific investigation of nature, mathe- 
matics, and the value of painting. To say, however, as 
several do who have been quoted, that this coincidence 
necessarily means a copy, is absurd. For these principles 
of education were a part of Andreae's system long before 
he saw any of Campanella's manuscript. This will be evi- 
dent from an inspection of the Fama and the Con- 
fessio, which were in print respectively in 1614 and 1616, 
and the former of which was circulated in manuscript form 
as early as 1610. The introduction of the Fama contains 
this prophecy: " The blessed dawn will soon appear, which, 
after the passing of the gloomy night of moonshine or the 
scanty glimmerings of the sparks of heavenly wisdom which 
may still linger with men as presagers of the sunshine, 
will usher in the pure day, with which all heavenly treasures 
will become known. This will be the genuine carbuncle, 
of which we have learned that it will give forth light in 
darkness — a welcome medicine to take away all ills and 
anxieties of men." Other parts of these earlier works will 
be used on later occasions.^ Besides showing Andreae's 
early interest in the " wisdom which should reveal all in- 
visible things in the world-secret " (knowledge by experi- 
^ See pp. 72, 119, 120, 121. 



40 Christianopolis 

mental investigation), this section is also important because 
it shows that even in 1610 the philosopher's stone as such 
was for him a myth and merely symbolical of enlighten- 
ment. 

In defense of the originality of the Descriptio (not con- 
sidering minor likenesses in form and detail) it may then 
be briefly stated : 

i) Andreae's notion of a Utopia dates from his visit to 
Geneva, and his seriousness in the matter of a realization of 
such an ideal state is proved by his own personal efforts in 
the communities in which he Hved. 

2) The principles inculcated are not duplicated in preced- 
ing Utopias — his conception of an ideal state is a new one; 
and the system of education as outlined, a marked improve- 
ment over all preceding, and, as far as Utopias are con- 
cerned, is strictly his own. 

3) In matters of science and education where the Chris- 
tianopolis and the Civitas have important points in common, 
there is no proof of copying, as the same principles are 
found in Andreae's earlier works, especially the Fama, 
which antedates the Civitas. 

4) As a final argument it may be said with Gussmann, " It 
would indeed speak but badly for Andreae's historical great- 
ness, if his work, which fits so exactly into the frame of his 
other writings, and which is so thoroughly filled with his 
own peculiar soul (Geist), were nothing more than a dry 
recasting, the trivial bowdlerization (Verballhornung) of 
the work of another." ^ 

* W. Gussmann : Christianopolis, in der ZkWL, Jahrg. 1886, VII, 
p. 438. 



CHAPTER III 

THE CHRISTIANOPOLIS AND FRANCIS BACON'S 

NEW ATLANTIS 

The story of the revolt against the AristoteHan method 
of arriving at conclusions, is one too often discussed to re- 
quire lengthy repetition. Suffice to say that many scientists 
of the sixteenth century (among them especially Telesio 
Bernardino in Italy) were restive under the restrictions of 
the old system, and were striving, independently and in co- 
operation, to pave the way for a new philosophy of nature. 
Among those who fought most strongly against Aristotle 
and his teaching as it had passed down from his day, and 
one to whom the greatest credit has been given for over- 
turning an old and instituting a new system of philosophy, 
is Francis Bacon. It would seem that he early conceived 
a dislike for Aristotle's system. If we can trust a statement 
from Dr. Rawley, which the latter says Bacon made to him 
in commenting upon his early student life. Bacon expressed 
this dissatisfaction as early as his sixteenth year when a stu- 
dent at Cambridge — namely, that at that time " he first fell 
into a dislike of the philosophy of Aristotle, on account of 
its unf ruitfulness ; it being a philosophy only strong for dis- 
putations and contentions, but barren of the production of 
works for the benefit of the life of man." ^ 

Bacon was born in 1560. His father, Sir Nicholas Bacon, 
had been Lord Keeper of the Royal Seal, to which office 
Bacon also later attained. Francis Bacon entered Cam- 

* Rawley's Life of Bacon, m Spedding, I, p. 4. 
41 



42 Christianopolis 

bridge at twelve, and completed the regular course in 
the liberal arts. Being destined by his father for service 
to the state, he accompanied an embassy to France and 
spent some tirne at Calais. At his father's death he re- 
turned to England and studied law and political science, 
which became his regular profession in life. It must be 
added, however, that law as such was never his greatest 
pleasure. In explanation of this fact a statement of his 
own may serve. '' I possessed a passion for research, a 
power of suspending fudgment with patience, of correcting 
false impressions, of arranging my thoughts with scrupulous 
pains. But my birth, my rearing, and education had all 
pointed toward politics, not philosophy, and, as is not unfre- 
quently the case with young men, I was sometimes shaken 
in mind by other men's opinions. I also thought that my 
duty toward my country had special claims upon me. Lastly 
I conceived the hope, that, if I held some honorable office 
in the state, I might thus secure helps and supports in my 
labors, with a view toward the accomplishment of my des- 
tined task. . . . With these motives I applied myself to 
politics." ^ Under Elizabeth and later under James I, 
Bacon made great advancement in his profession, and held 
the highest offices in the government, until his disgrace and 
removal from the chancellorship in 1621. But during this 
time and especially during the five years of his life in re- 
tirement, he seems to have spent all his spare moments and 
to have devoted his best efforts (if we may judge from his 
letters and works, and also from comments of Dr. Rawley, 
his very intimate friend and the editor of his works) to 
the breaking down of what remained of the old method of 
Aristotle, and to the building up of a "new system" or 

* Introduction to G. C. Moore Smith's edition, Bacon's New 
Atlantis, p. 11. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 43 

"new instrument" (organum). This was to free the in- 
tellectual world from the fetters of pure logic and sophistry 
and to open up unknown mines of truth and information — 
a system which Bacon maintained was entirely his own and 
which would cause a complete revolution in thought. Of his 
many works, those which deal especially with the subject 
before us are : The Advancement of Learning, published in 
English in 1605, the Novum Organum in Latin in 1620 and 
the De Augmentis, Latin, in 1623. The Novum Organum 
or Instauratio Magna included the Advancement of Learn- 
ing in revised and translated form. The Great Instaura- 
tion also includes the Sylva Sylvarum, or Natural History, 
and to this was appended the New Atlantis when the former 
was published for the first time by Rawley after Bacon's 
death. The Sylva was the last thing that occupied Bacon's 
time. 

Whether Bacon was entirely unprejudiced and unselfish 
in his scientific efforts is a disputed question. Wolff paints 
Bacon as an antagonist of Aristotle, endeavoring to dis- 
place the latter from his world-throne and to establish him- 
self in the vacated place.^ In so doing, he maintains that 
Bacon fails to realize or at least to confess that his method 
is after all not entirely new, but one which eliminates from 
Aristotle his purely deductive reasoning, and merely de- 
velops and adapts the inductive. Certain it is that induc- 
tion so often ascribed to Bacon did not begin with him; 
that the attainment of knowledge through experimental 
means and the compiling of masses of detailed facts were, 
as already stated, suggested and practiced long before. But 
Bacon was keen and quick-witted enough to grasp the value 
of this method and first formulated it into definite prin- 
ciples. He insists, furthermore, that his induction does not 
* Wolff : Francis Bacon und seine Quellen, pp. 235 ff. 



44 Christianopolis 

consist merely in simple enumeration of details and collec- 
tion of facts but in an additional process of exclusion and 
rejection.^ This feature is not discoverable in his earliest 
works, as for instance Valerius Terminus, but as a result of 
his own experience, and perhaps suggestions from others, 
gradually appears. So that his final scheme, as described 
by Spedding,^ provides for three steps : the ministration of 
the senses, of the memory, and of the reason, under which 
heads he includes the gathering of facts and material, and 
the proper checking of results. 

Of all Francis Bacon's works none has created more in- 
terest or has been more commented upon than the New 
Atlantis — partly because of the uncertainty as to the date of 
its composition, partly because of its content, and again, 
because it is, as distinguished from Bacon's usual attempts, 
a work of fiction. The New Atlantis was first written in 
English, not in Latin as stated by Henry Morley in his 
Ideal Commonwealths, and others, and was among the 
works ^ translated into Latin during the last five years of 
Bacon's life to assure their preservation.* There was no 
date on the manuscript (it was published in 1627, a year 
after Bacon's death, at the end of the Sylva) and the work 
is a fragment. We are told by Rawley, '' That his lord- 
ship thought also in the present fable to have composed a 
frame of laws of the best state or mold of a commonwealth. 
But foreseeing it would be a long work, his desire of col- 
lecting the Natural History diverted him, which he pre- 
ferred many degrees before it." ^ In his summary of the 

^ Bacon's Life and Works, I, p. 34. 
' Life and Works, I, p. 40. 

' Hist, of Henry VU, The Counsels, Civil and Moral, Dialogue of 
the Holy War. 
* Rawley : Life of Bacon, p. 10, 
' Works, III, p. 127, Pref. to the New Atlantis. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 45 

works of Bacon's last five years (those of his retirement) 
Rawley puts the New Atlantis between the History of Henry 
VH and De Augmentis. This would make the date of its 
composition about 1623. No one disputed this date until in 
comparatively recent years, when, due to the discovery of 
some papers in the Harleian Charters, which were attributed 
to Bacon, the date was suddenly pushed back seven to nine 
years. In the paper referred to ^ the New Atlantis is men- 
tioned twice. The contents of the paper would point to a 
date between 1614 and 1617, according to which the New 
Atlantis must at least have been begun at that time. Dr. 
S. R. Gardiner took this view, and in his Life of Bacon in 
the Dictionary of National Biography states ''. . . New At- 
lantis, formerly supposed to have been written as late as 1623, 
but now known to have been composed before 161 7." This 
change was accepted by all authorities, and was copied in 
encyclopedias and '' lives," until a full analysis of the case ap- 
peared in the Athenceum^ in an article by Dr. G. C. Moore 
Smith. Dr. Smith pointed out that the paper, representing 
an address given by Bacon before the houses of parliament, 
was probably the work of Thomas Bushell,^ written after 
the death of the former, and put into his mouth for per- 
sonal reasons. The argument of the article was accepted 
by Dr. Gardiner in the next issue of the Athenceum * and the 

* Harleian Charters, III, D, 14. 
' Feb. 3, 1900. 

' Thomas Bushell (1594-1674) entered the service of Bacon at the 
age of fifteen years. His habits were those of a spendthrift. When 
introduced at the court, his extravagant clothes were noticed by 
King James. He was always in debt, and Bacon came to his rescue 
often. When the latter was impeached, Bushell retired from 
public life, but returned after Bacon's death and promoted several 
mining schemes. In this capacity he seems to have used Bacon's 
name for his own private ends. 

* Feb. 10. 



46 Christianopolis 

matter now stands as formerly. The fact that Dr. Rawley, 
the private secretary of Bacon, definitely assigns the work 
to the last five years of Bacon's life, furnishes the strongest 
possible argument. His statement, just quoted, on the title 
page of the New Atlantis, suggesting that '' it was unfin- 
ished because Bacon, being pressed for time, preferred to 
continue the Natural History,'' would seem to be an addi- 
tional proof, especially when one remembers that the part in 
which Bacon was most interested, that of science and inven- 
tion, was already completed. It can readily be seen why 
Bacon, having finished that part of his ideal state, and feel- 
ing, as he stated several times, that his death would cut off 
some of his productions, preferred to leave the rest and 
take up his former task — that which lay nearer to his heart. 
At any rate Dr. Smith's statement may be accepted: "Ac- 
cordingly, any attack on Dr. Rawley's date, on the ground 
of the Harleian paper, may be considered to be now 
abandoned." ^ 

It cannot be doubted that Bacon set a high value on the 
New Atlantis, and commentators have not hesitated to at- 
tribute to it and to the ideals for which it stands a very 
prominent place in literature and in the development of 
modern natural philosophy. First of all Rawley, " Certainly 
the model is more vast and high than can possibly be 
imitated in ail things. Notwithstanding most things therein 
are within men's power to effect." ^ 

For those who have written on the subject, the New 
Atlantis is the most perfect form of ideal state up to the 
time of its publication, and for some, the scheme of a col- 
lege and outline for research therein contained, the one and 
only model for the Royal Society of London and other 

* Smith's edition of the New Atlantis, Introduction, p. 9. 
^ Title page of the New Atlantis, Works, III, p. 127. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 47 

similar institutions. Furthermore, that this model of a col- 
lege and the plans for ** investigating nature " appear first 
in the New Atlantis and are entirely original with Bacon 
has not as yet been much contested. It will be made clear 
further on, that the former contention is not entirely true; 
and to show that the latter statement may be seriously 
doubted, will be the purpose of the discussion immediately 
succeeding. There are certain undeniable likenesses in the 
New Atlantis and the Christianopolis of Andreae, and cir- 
cumstances point to a relation between them. But before we 
take up a comparison of the two, the question as to whether 
it is at all possible that Bacon may have known Andreae's 
works will be looked into.^ 

Bacon had regular correspondence with men of letters 
in different parts of Europe, and he kept in as close touch 
as possible with all available contemporary literary and sci- 
entific productions. This cannot be doubted. For although 
his personal references to such correspondents, those 
whose interests were scientific rather than political, are 
comparatively few, certain incidental remarks give evi- 
dence of the facts. Only once, so far as is known, does 
he mention Campanella. But in this brief reference ^ he 
plainly suggests his acquaintance with him and with his 
ideas. A letter to Father Redemptus Baranza at Anneci, 
preserved in the collection of J. P. Niceron,^ deals with 
Baranza's opinion on parts of the Novum Organum, which 
was published the second year previous and which Baranza 
had evidently carefully perused. Bacon's letter asks the 
latter to take up and develop certain phases of natural 

^ Simon Goulart translated some of Andreae's works into French. 
Andreae's Fifty-two Discourses, translated into French in 1622, are 
in the StadtbibHothek at Zurich. 

' Bacon's Works, II, p. 13. 

* Life and Letters, VII, p. 374. 



48 Christianopolis 

philosophy, and expresses, as he often does, the desire for 
" fit assistants " in the work he was undertaking. He adds 
the very suggestive clause, *' I have seen those of your 
works that are published, works, certainly, of great sub- 
tlety and diligence in your way. The novelists (regularly 
at that time for innovators, inventors, and investigators) 
whom you name, Patricius, Telesius,^ besides others whom 
you do not mention, I have read. . . . Let our acquaintance 
be now established." Scaliger ^ is mentioned in the Sylva.^ 
" Therefore Scaliger does well to make the pleasure of 
generation a sixth sense," referring to Scaliger's Exer- 
citationes Adversus Cardanum. And direct influence from 
the same source is traceable in the description of the 
chameleon* and elsewhere. Scaliger was in England in 
1566 and kept up relations with the Continent while at the 
University of Leyden. 

Among Bacon's memoranda of July 26,1608,^ is found this 
item: '' Q. of learned men beyond the seas to be made, and 

* Telesio Bernardino, the Italian philosopher, was born a Cala- 
brian in 1508. He died in 1588. His philosophy is founded on 
experience, his researches including physics, chemistry, and as- 
tronomy. An academy founded by him in Naples, being intended 
to educate scientists and displace Aristotle's method, is still in exist- 
ence. His chief work is De Natura, which appeared in fragment at 
Rome in 1568 and in Naples in 1586. 

' Joseph Justus Scaliger (1540-1609) was perhaps the most famous 
philologian of the sixteenth century. He studied in Bordeaux and 
Paris, specializing in the classics and Hebrew literature. In 1566 
he was in England, and spent the next twenty-five years in various 
places in South France. He was converted to the Protestant church, 
and succeeded Lipsius as professor at Leyden in 1593. He died in 
1609. Among his very numerous and various writings are several 
on scientific subjects. Heinsius, and later Casaubon, were intimate 
friends and comrades of his. 

* Works, II, p. 556, no. 694. 

* II, p. 460, no. 360, from Scaliger's Adversus Cardanum, p. 196. 
" Works, XI, p. 64. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 49 

hearkening who they be that may be so inclined." He was 
endeavoring to find help in the work of his Great Instaura- 
tion from among the learned men of his own country and 
the Continent. Shortly after this he tried to interest 
Casaubon (who was then at Paris), as is plain from a letter 
Bacon wrote him. ^ Bacon knew of Galileo, and, according 
to Mr. Ellis' preface to the Descriptio Globi Intellectualis, 
" listened eagerly for news from the stars brought by the 
latter's telescope." ^ 

A letter to Sir Henry Wotton ^ is of especial interest. In 
this letter Bacon says : " The letter which I received from 
your lordship upon your going to sea, was more than a 
compensation for any former omission, and I shall ever be 
glad to entertain a correspondence with you." * Spedding 
tells us that the letter went in company with three copies 
of the Novum Organum. Wotton was at the time on an 
embassy to Germany; and having a considerable acquaint- 
ance with the men of learning in Europe, could do much 
to advertise the book. He was so well acquainted with 
German, that for years in Ingolstadt and Vienna he was 
mistaken for a German.^ 

' Works, XI, p. 146. ' Works, III, p. 511. 

' Sir Henry Wotton (1568-1639), diplomat and poet, was educated 
at Oxford, and went upon an extensive tour of Europe in 1588. He 
visited Altdorf, Linz — where he met Kepler — Vienna, Rome, and 
other cities in Italy. In 1593 he was with Casaubon at Geneva and 
later in France. In the service of Essex he accompHshed diplomatic 
missions in France and Germany, After James' ascension to the 
throne, he was given posts as ambassador in various places in 
France and Spain. In 1619 he returned to England by way of 
Germany. He was present at James' funeral and went to parlia- 
ment under Charles. In his acknowledgment of Bacon's letter 
and the three copies of the Novum Organum he promised to give 
one of the latter to Kepler. 

* Works, XIV, p. 130. 

" Lucy Aiken : Memoirs of the Court of King James I. London, 
1822, I, pp. 117 ff. 



go Christianopolis 

A study of the lives of three men would seem espe- 
cially to point toward a possible connection between Bacon 
and the circle of friends and acquaintances of Andreae on 
the Continent. These will be taken up separately. 

Isaac Casaubon was born at Geneva in 1559. He was edu- 
cated, and afterwards taught the classics at the university 
in his native city. In 1593 he became acquainted with 
Sir Henry Wotton, already referred to, who was at that 
time on his travels through Europe; and the latter stayed 
for some time at the home of Casaubon while in Geneva. 
Casaubon soon had a world reputation among scholars. 
The French, especially through the efforts of De Thou,^ 
tried hard to win Casaubon for France, by establishing him 
at one of the French universities, and in 1596 he went to 
Montpellier. Even earlier than this he had formed a close 
friendship with Scaliger, then professor at Leyden. They 
had been introduced by Richard Thomson, an Englishman. 
Scaliger, who was eighteen years Casaubon's senior, did 
not at first look upon his overtures with favor, but in the 
end came to think very highly of his scholarly attainments, 
calling him the " most learned man in Europe." They cor- 
responded regularly until Casaubon's death in England. 
From Montpellier Casaubon went to Paris, taking up a posi- 
tion under Henry IV, under the title of Lectureur du Roi. 
With James he had already been in communication while 
the latter was James VI of Scotland, and he was long 
desirous of taking up his abode in London. The death of 
Henry in 1610 released Casaubon from any obligations to 
stay longer; and the same year he started for England in 
the suite of Lord Wotton of Marley, the half-brother of 

* De Thou, historian and statesman (15S3-1617). His home was 
in Paris, and during the reign of Henry IV, beginning in 1594, he 
was president of the parliament. He had a wide circle of pro- 
fessional acquaintances, including Scaliger, Heinsius, and Bacon. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 51 

Sir Henry. With James he was very intimate. The latter 
spent hours in conversation with him and supported him 
with a considerable pension. The Bishop of Ely and the 
Dean of St. Paul's were his closest friends, and he also 
spent much time at Oxford and Cambridge. After his 
death in 161 4 he was buried at Westminster. His very 
numerous publications deal to a considerable extent with 
the classics, and include translations from Greek into Latin. 
Among the " learned men beyond the seas," ^ Casaubon is 
to be counted.^ He had become acquainted with some of 
Bacon's writings and had written to Sir George Gary, ex- 
pressing his appreciation of them. Bacon took advantage 
of this fact to open a correspondence with him, and this 
was at least partly responsible for the call which Casaubon 
received from James the following year. This letter ^ ex- 
presses the desire for friendship and cooperation in the 
great work of scientific research. 

The second individual whose life may have formed a 
link between those of Bacon and Andreae is Georg Rodolf 
Weckherlin. He was born at Stuttgart in 1584, and entered 
the University of Tubingen in the spring of 1601, pursuing 
the study of jurisprudence. During the years immediately 
following his graduation from the university he entered the 
diplomatic service and discharged several missions in Ger- 
many and France. The three years following 1607 he spent 
in England, as secretary of a legation to James I, and in 
1614 he is mentioned as acting as private secretary to the 
Duke of Wiirtemberg. His marriage to the daughter of 
Francis Raworth of Dover called him to England in 161 6, 
and after 1624 he was under-secretary of state in England, 
having charge of the correction and examination of all 

* Cf. p. 48 of this chapter. ^ Works, XI, p. 145. 

^ Works, XI, p. 147. 



52 Christianopolis 

official correspondence. During the civil wars he took his 
stand with parliament, though in the expedition against 
Scotland he followed Charles. In 1644 he was made secre- 
tary of foreign tongues, which office he held until displaced 
by Milton in 1649. In 1652 when Milton's sight began to 
fail, Weckherlin was his assistant. He died the following 
year. Weckherlin is known first of all as a poet, and has 
left a collection of several hundred poems. Among these 
there is one of some length dedicated to '' Heinrich Wotton, 
dem Engelischen Ritter," while another is an adaptation of 
one of Wotton's odes.^ This, it is to be remembered, is 
the Sir Henry Wotton who lived with Casaubon in 1593 
at Geneva, with whom Bacon corresponded and to whom 
he sent his Novum Organum in 1620. It will also be noted 
that Weckherlin entered the University of Tiibingen the 
same year as did Andreae, and that they spent the follow- 
ing four years there together, the one in jurisprudence, the 
other in theology. And furthermore Weckherlin was a 
close friend and for years the secretary of Benjamin von 
Buwinckhausen, Stadthalter of Alengon, an intimate friend 
of Andreae. At the death of Buwinckhausen, Andreae 
conducted the funeral services and in his sermon speaks 
of him as '' a man of the greatest worth, of whom I shall 
never speak except with great honor." ^ Andreae mentions 
Buwinckhausen in his Vita, in various connections.^ 

The third to be considered is Sir Toby Matthew, courtier, 
diplomat, and writer. He was born in 1577 and was edu- 
cated at Oxford. In 1598 he visited a friend in France but 
returned soon after. In 1601 he went to parliament and there 

^ Nos. 44 and 11 of Goedeke's collection of Weckherlin's poems, 
Leipzig, 1873. 

^Weckherlin's Oden und Ges'dnge in Hopfner, and Vita, p. 113. 
^ Vita, pp. 103, 113, 119, 126, 150, 158, 159, 242. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 53 

became acquainted with Bacon. The next few years he spent 
in Europe, visiting especially Italy and Spain. While abroad 
he became converted to the Catholic faith. This, though 
he kept the fact secret for a while, made permanent resi- 
dence in England impossible, as he refused to take the 
oath of allegiance. He was therefore on the Continent more 
than in England, though he made several attempts to be per- 
mitted to live at home, attempts in which Bacon earnestly 
took his part. While in Brussels he received a copy of the 
Advancement of Learning and, in 1610, the De Sapientia 
Veterorum. During the next few years he translated into 
Italian several of Bacon's works, among them the Essays. 
At a later period again at Brussels he translated into Eng- 
lish The Incomparable Dr. S. Augustine and The Penitent 
Bandito. In 1624 he was appointed one of the eighty- four 
" Essentials " or original working members of an Academe 
Royal, the scheme of which had been completed by Edmund 
Bolton.^ In 1625, as a mark of especial favor to Matthew, 
Bacon added his Essay on Friendship to the series, referring 
in his letter to the friendship existing between Matthew and 
himself. In Bacon's will was found a clause by which he 
left thirty pounds to be expended in purchasing a ring for 
Matthew. The latter died in the English College at Ghent 
in 1655. During Matthew's extensive travels in Europe he 
visited many towns in Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain, and 
Germany. During the whole period of their association, 
from the time he became acquainted with Bacon in 1601 
until the latter's death, a regular correspondence was kept 
up between them. Many of these letters are preserved, 

* Edmund Bolton (1575-1633), historian and poet. In 1617 he pro- 
posed a scheme for a college, and its fellows were actually chosen — 
the Academe Royal. But James died, and his successor showed no 
great interest in the institution. Hence the organization dissolved. 



54 Christianopolis 

some quoted by Spedding. All show the closest friendship 
between Bacon and Matthew and a great appreciation on 
Bacon's part of the literary and critical ability of Matthew. 
As Bacon's books came out, copies were at once sent to 
Matthew, with a view toward getting the latter's opinion 
as well as having them circulated on the Continent. As 
is evident from the letters, Matthew was on the lookout 
continually for literary men whose acquaintance he would 
be glad to make, and whose scientific investigations could 
be of service to him in his own researches. 

It will be evident from the foregoing pages that a knowl- 
edge on the part of Bacon of Andreae's Christianopolis and 
the Fama, and some of the other works, which appeared 
from 1614 to the time of Bacon's death, and some of which 
were circulated even earlier in manuscript form, is not by 
any means out of the question. Rather it would seem almost 
impossible that Bacon should not have heard of them 
through one or the other of their mutual acquaintances. The 
problem, then becomes one of inner evidence in the works 
in question, to determine, if possible, whether they are 
kindred. This matter will be taken up now. 

G. C. Moore Smith, in the introduction to his edition of the 
New Atlantis, devotes some pages to the tracing of the name 
" New Atlantis " to its sources. In the fable itself, Bacon 
refers to the " Atlantis," the island mentioned in the Critias 
of Plato. This island and the sea around it were named 
after Atlas and inhabited by his children and their de- 
scendants. Francisco Lopes de Gomara in his History of 
the Indias ^ made Plato's Atlantis the continents of America ; 
or rather the present America is all that is left of Atlantis 
after having been partially sunk into the sea as a result of 
an earthquake. Bacon refers to the same Atlantis as hav- 

' 1552. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 55 

ing been almost depopulated by a great local flood ; and 
locates his island of New Atlantis between the Great Atlantis 
and the Orient. Of greater interest for the present dis- 
cussion, however, is the name of the city built upon the 
island. This is Bensalem, Son of Peace or Salvation. The 
names Village of Peace, Caphar Salama, and the Hiero- 
solyma in the utopia of Andreae seem to have been directly 
transferred to Bensalem and to Nova Solyma, A New 
Peace, the latter being the Ideal City of Samuel Gott which 
will be discussed in the next chapter. 

In form and general style the two works under considera- 
tion are the same. In each case it is the experience of an 
individual as the latter relates it to his hearers or readers, 
not a dialogue as was the case in the ideal states of both More 
and Campanella. Smith ^ comments favorably upon Bacon's 
beginning. " How natural an opening ! No introduction, 
no account of persons spoken of, merely, * We sailed from 
Peru.' " Bacon's introduction continues, " We had good 
winds at first. But then the winds came about and settled to 
the west. Next, strong and great winds came from the 
south. Finding ourselves in the midst of the greatest wil- 
derness of waters in the world, we gave ourselves up for lost 
men and prepared for death." Now if we disregard for the 
time the allegorical form of the Christianopolis, however 
effective this may be, we have almost the identical words. 
*' I set sail again upon the sea. I left the port with many 
others and exposed my life to a thousand dangers. For 
a short time the weather favored us; then adverse winds 
drove contrary currents against us and we despaired. The 
sailors did their best, but we soon saw destruction before 
our eyes and stood in readiness for death." ^ 

^ New Atlantis, Introduction, p. 23. 
" Chap. i. 



56 Christianopolis 

Then follows the landing. In the Christianopolis^ it is 
a wreck and a violent casting ashore. In the New Atlantis 
a voluntary landing in boats. But in both cases the adven- 
turers are kindly taken up and cared for. In the Chris- 
tianopolis ^ the stranger passes three distinct examinations 
before he is given full privileges to use the city. In the New 
Atlantis the examination and the questioning on the ship 
are begun before landing is permitted, and are continued on 
shore. The first question, ** Are ye Christians ? ",^ the most 
important, is followed by an oath, giving evidence that no 
blood has been shed, and that the party is not a band of 
pirates. In the Christianopolis the first examination is 
likewise a caution against vagabonds and tramps. A further 
suggestion of the same is expressed in the address given to 
the crew in the strangers' house by the leader.* After 
dwelling upon the miracle of their escape and rescue he 
adds : " Yet there is m_ore. For they have by commandment, 
though in form of courtesy, cloistered us within these walls 
for three days. Who knoweth whether it be not to take 
some taste of our manners and conditions? And if they 
find them bad, to banish us straightway; if good, to give 
us further time." The parallel can be traced throughout 
the whole story. A mere detail of difference lies in the 
fact that Andreae divides his work into short chapters, but 
they are so well arranged and so closely connected that we 
get the idea of an uninterrupted relation of experiences and 
a description of impressions as the visitor passes through 
the city, even as is the case in the New Atlantis. In the 
Christianopolis the division is merely one of print. 

The strangers' house and the fund for strangers in the 
New Atlantis is but an elaboration of Andreae's simpler 

^ Chaps, i, ii. '^ New Atlantis, p. 131. 

^ Chap. iv. ^ New Atlantis, p. 134. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 57 

method of showing kindness to strangers and caring for 
them after the proof of their worthiness has been estab- 
lished. And the latter fact is also carefully investigated in the 
New Atlantis. The rather lengthy and somewhat unneces- 
sary description of the rooms in which the strangers are 
kept, and the preparations made for their reception and 
nursing, are very naturally suggested by the fact that here 
a whole ship's crew is to be accounted for, instead of but 
one individual. The principle of humanity and charity, how- 
ever, seems to be brought out just as clearly in the Chris- 
tianopolis in a less boastful manner, though Smith ^ sees in 
Bacon's detailed account poetic means to greater " natural- 
ness " in the description. The latter part of the New At- 
lantis 2 is taken up with a description given by one of the 
Fathers of Salomon's ^ House as to the purposes and aims 
of this " college." At the close of this, or rather in the 
midst of it, the narrative breaks off, and it remains for one 
to guess under what circumstances the visitors left the 
island and returned home to tell their story. But the fact 
that they were by especial act merely permitted to stay 
longer than the usual time, and not allowed to remain per- 
manently as a whole party, together with the farewell state- 
ment of the father of Salomon's House, '* I give thee leave 
to publish what I have told thee, for the good of other 
nations " — these would naturally lead to a conclusion much 
like that of the Christianopolis. This will suffice for a com- 
parison of the narrative form of the two works. 

* Introduction, p. 23, of his New Atlantis. 

^•Pp. i56ff. 

^ Bacon regularly spells the word as it appears in the Vulgate and 
in Luther's translation of the Bible. Though the name is similar 
to that of Solamona, the lawgiver of Bensalem, yet the inhabitants 
are convinced that he named the place in honor of the Hebrew king 
{New Atlantis, p. 145). 



58 Christianopolis 

A strong point of similarity is found in the religious 
conditions in the two places. Bensalem, like Christianopolis, 
is a Christian state. A history of the island gives in sub- 
stance the following mystical account of the introduction 
of the Christian religion into the place.^ Twenty years after 
the ascension of Christ, the inhabitants of the east side of 
the island saw a great pillar of light in the night. Upon 
investigation with boats it was found that the pillar was 
unapproachable, until one of those present, a wise man of 
the society of Salomon's House, recognizing the miracle, 
prayed to God for light, and thereupon found his boat free 
to move ahead. The column disappeared as he approached ; 
but at its base were found an ark containing the canonical 
books of the Old and the New Testaments and a message to 
the following effect : " I, Bartholomew, a servant of the 
Highest, and apostle of Jesus Christ, was warned by an angel 
that appeared to me in a vision of glory that I should com- 
mit this ark to the floods of the sea. Therefore I do testify 
and declare unto that people where God shall ordain this 
ark to come to land, that in the same day is come unto them 
salvation and peace and good will, from the Father and 
from the Lord Jesus." The implication of the message is 
that a safe place was to be found where God might establish 
His religion, and have it bear fruit in the hearts and lives 
of an honest and wise people. Now we find a strikingly 
similar idea expressed in the Christianopolis. First 
'\ . . the church, which has been tossed about so many 
thousand years on the world-sea." ^ Again, " When the 
church wandered as a stranger from east to west . . ."^ 
But especially in answer to the question " What blessedness 
set up its abode here ? " the stranger is told, " When the 

* New Atlantis, p. 137. ^ Chap, xxxvi. 

^ Chap. Ixix. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 59 

whole world raged against the good, and forced them to de- 
part out of her boundaries, then Religion, an exile, taking 
along her most faithful friends, after crossing the sea and 
searching here and there, finally chose this land where she 
put her associates ashore ; and later she built a city which 
we call * the Christian city/ and desired that it should be the 
abode or refuge, if you like, of honesty and uprightness." ^ 
Compare with this also Die Christenburg, which was com- 
posed in 161 5 : '' In the world-sea there is an island, much 
favored of God. . . . When evil took possession of the earth, 
religion fled hither." ^ Even the questions which bring 
out these explanations are strangely alike. It is the 
first question for information in both cases. " Who 
was the apostle and how was the place converted to the 
Christian faith? " The guide in the New Atlantis answers : 
" Ye knit my heart to you by asking this question in the 
first place ; for it sheweth that ye seek first the kingdom of 
heaven." ^ And he then, like the guide in the Christianopolis, 
proceeds to explain the manner of the conversion of the 
island. A strange and unexpected development for Bacon 
is the mystical, mysterious description of the ark contain- 
ing the letter and Bible. One is unconsciously reminded of 
the secret vault described in the Fama^ 

Innumerable are the references to prayer and worship 
which correspond in the two works: thanks to God for 
rescue from the storm and safe landing among a Christian 
people; oaths in the name of God and Christ as pledge for 
past and future behavior. There is no mention of daily 
meals and church attendance in the New Atlantis. But the 
prayers at the Feast of the Family,^ to be spoken of again, 

* Chap, iii. * Griineisen, p. 254. 

'^ New Atlantis, p. 137. * Fama, p. 58 (Geheime Wissenschaften). 
° New Atlantis, p. 147. 



6o Christianopolis 

the only festivity of the sort described, and the benedictions 
at the close, are all suggestive of table and family prayers, 
as is the case in the Christianopolis. The father of Salo- 
mon's House, as he passes through the city, raises his hand 
and silently blesses the people. He begins his discourse 
about the college with the words, " God bless thee, my son," 
and closes with the same phrase. So also the officer of the 
strangers' house ^ comes *' as a priest and a Christian " to 
bring what assistance and comfort he can to the afflicted. 
And the leader of the crew says in his address to his com- 
rades, " Let us look to God, and every man reform his own 
ways. Besides we are come here amongst a Christian people, 
full of piety and humanity." ^ Again, " It seemed to us that 
we had before us a picture of our salvation in heaven ; for we 
that were a while since in the jaws of death, were now 
brought into a place where we found nothing but consola- 
tion." ^ In like manner in the Christianopolis the stranger 
is addressed : " How fortunate you are, because after so 
vengeful a storm and shipwreck, you have happened to be 
landed at this place." * The religious, the Christian ele- 
ment in both the New Atlantis and in the Christianopolis is 
a very essential part of the whole. 

Socially the two Utopias are closely akin. The family 
is the unit of society, and upon it is built the whole social 
fabric. This conception is very far developed in the New 
Atlantis. The Feast of the Family is instituted and cele- 
brated in honor of him whose family counts at least thirty 
living members. On an appointed day the head of the 
family, having previously chosen several friends to assist in 
the celebration, meets with the members of his family ac- 
cording to a stated ceremony. The occasion is made use of 

* New Atlantis, p. 135. ^ New Atlantis, p. 136. 

'^ New Atlantis, p. 134. * Chap. ii. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 6i 

to settle all petty disputes between members, to impress 
lessons of morality, piety, patriotism, and obedience; and 
to bring all into close association with each other. The 
ceremony, rather elaborate and impressive, does not espe- 
cially concern us here. The important features are these: 
the feast is religious in character, including invocation, 
hymns, prayer, and benediction. It bears also direct rela- 
tion to the state; for the expenses are supplied from the 
state treasury, and the head of the family hereafter wears 
a medal presented by the king. Socially it emphasizes 
two important points : first, the principle of family unity. 
Toward the close of the ceremony, one of the sons is chosen 
who shall henceforth live with the father in the latter's 
house, assist him in the affairs of his household, and so hold 
the family together by taking the father's place in case of 
his death. The second is that of raising up a large family ; 
for no man is so honored throughout the state as such a 
" family-father." He is granted a charter containing many 
privileges and exemptions; and the medal presented by the 

king bears the inscription, " To , our well beloved friend 

and creditor," a title proper only in this case ; '' for they 
say a king is debtor to no man, but for the propagation of his 
subjects." ^ In this feast they pray to Adam, Noah, and 
Abraham, whereof the former two peopled the world, and 
the latter was the father of the faithful. 

Now, just these features are made emphatic in the 
Christianopolis. Family and table prayers and hymns are 
the daily rule. Contrary to conditions in all earlier Utopias, 
there are no common tables, except for pupils in the board- 
ing schools; but the family meets daily around its private 
board. The government deals out food and provisions each 
week to families,'^ a family consisting of father, mother, and 

^New Atlantis, p. 149. ^ Chap. xv. 



62 Christianopolis 

younger children — the older sons and daughters being in 
boarding school or at college. And as to the importance of 
family increase, the quotation already suggested in the 
preceding chapter will suffice, '' The crown of woman is 
motherhood." ^ 

The second question asked of the guide in the New 
Atlantis is one relating to marriage: "Because propaga- 
tion of families proceedeth from nuptial copulation, what 
laws have you concerning marriage ; and do you keep mar- 
riage well ; and are you tied to one wife ? For where popu- 
lation is so much affected, such as with you it seems to be, 
there is commonly permission of plurality of wives." ^ The 
answer to this question is given with a considerable amount 
of pride, and shows the following facts : there is not under 
heaven so chaste a nation as that of Bensalem, so free from 
pollution and foulness. It is the virgin of the world. If the 
spirit of fornication be represented by a " foul and ugly 
Ethiop " then the spirit of the chastity of Bensalem would 
appear in the likeness of a fair, beautiful cherubim. There 
are no dissolute women, courtesans, and the like. These 
the people of Bensalem detest and they are surprised that 
Europeans countenance and permit a nuisance that is so 
detrimental to the lives and health of the inhabitants. Purity 
in married life even is observed. " For whosoever is un- 
chaste, cannot reverence himself. And the reverence of 
man's self is, next to religion, the chiefest bridle of all 
vices." ^ The marriage relation is the most sacred in life. 
Polygamy is not practiced — that would be out of harmony 
with the spirit of the family. Consent of parents is neces- 
sary for legal marriage. 

It will be remembered that the Christianopolis expresses 

* Chap. xc. ' New Atlantis, pp. 151 and 152. 

• New Atlantis, p. 153. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 63 

views almost identical with these.^ *' The glory of a con- 
quest over the passions ..." Purity of personal life, 
in the single as in the married state, consent of parents on 
the part of the contracting parties, permanency and serious- 
ness of marriage — these are the chief points in both cases. 
Only in one respect does Bacon's ideal differ from that of 
Andreae, and here we must admit (as in the case of More 
and Campanella) that the latter stands infinitely higher in 
the ethical scale. " I have read," says the speaker in the New 
Atlantis, '' in a book of one of your men (evidently More) 
of a feigned commonwealth, where the married couples are 
permitted, before they contract, to see one another naked. 
This the inhabitants of Bensalem dislike, for they think 
it a scorn to give a refusal after so familiar knowledge. 
But because of many hidden defects in men's and women's 
bodies, they have a more civil way; for they have near 
every town a couple of pools, which they call Adam's and 
Eve's pools, where it is permitted to one of the friends of 
the man, and another of the friends of the woman, to see 
them severally bathe naked." - This was for Bacon a de- 
sirable mean, or a compromise between the strictly " eu- 
genic " conceptions of More, and his own notions of pro- 
priety. 

A few other minor points of similarity will be mentioned 
before passing to the chief matter, that of the founding 
of a college. 

Both governments are particular about health regulations 
and sanitary conditions. In the New Atlantis the ship's 
crew is disinfected (not very thoroughly, it is true) before 
landing.^ The city is provided with baths * for health and 
cleanliness. Christianopolis has not only baths but an 

^ Chap, xviii. * New Atlantis, p. 132. 

^ New Atlantis, p. 154. * New Atlantis, p. I57. 



64 Christianopolis 

elaborate sewer system as well ; ^ and the authorities are 
very careful lest contagion come to the citizens through 
guests."^ 

Similar expressions occur in connection with the rules of 
hospitality to strangers. At his first meeting with the in- 
habitants of Christianopolis the shipwrecked sailor gives 
us the following information : " He led me to the city where 
he said I would be well taken up, according to the usual 
charitable kindliness shown in his country toward unfortu- 
nate strangers. I could answer nothing but ' Thanks and 
praise to God.' " ^ In the New Atlantis, in the rehearsal 
of the past history of the state, the visitors are told : " For 
first he (the king) hath preserved all points of humanity in 
taking order and making provision for the relief of strangers 
distressed, whereof you have tasted." — *' At which," we are 
told, '' as reason was we all arose and bowed." * 

But the New Atlantis is important primarily and has 
become famous chiefly because of the picture drawn and 
the description given of a " college," a group of learned 
and capable men endowed, and working together toward a 
common end — the attainment of knowledge by experiment, 
the enriching of the world's store of information by the 
process of investigation into nature, and discovering in her 
the truths and principles that have existed from all time. 
Bacon is ordinarily credited with having originated the en- 
tire scheme and as being alone responsible for the founding 
of such colleges, academies, and societies in England. It is 
not alone his plan of a college that has been so much praised, 
nor yet the individual experiments or lines of investigation 
that he suggests. For of the latter some have proved to be 
visionary, impracticable, and not altogether desirable; and 
others were not original, but taken from More, Roger Bacon, 

^ Chap. xcv. ^ Chap. iii. 

^ Chap, xcvii. * New Atlantis, p. 144. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 65 

and other earlier investigators in England and elsewhere. 
It is rather the mere suggestion that such an institution 
would be desirable and would lead to good results which 
is of importance. 

As in the case of the other Utopias which have been dis- 
cussed, and perhaps even to a much higher degree, this one 
represents the author's favorite work. There can be no doubt 
but that Bacon considered the New Atlantis, as far as com- 
pleted, one of his most important productions, as embodying 
the principles which he had developed in years of experi- 
ence. Yet the New Atlantis, aside from being a fragment, 
is not a complete description of a well-balanced city in the 
same sense as the Christianopolis is. In the former, certain 
features not always essentials are given very great impor- 
tance, as for instance the history of the great Atlantis, while 
other factors more necessary for an ideal state are entirely 
omitted. Little or no mention is made of education of the 
children and youth, occupation of the citizens, and matters 
of daily life. This difficulty would not likely have been 
remedied even if the work had been finished according to 
the plans of the author. Rawley tells us on the title page, 
" His lordship thought also in the present fable to have com- 
posed a frame of laws, of the best state or mold of a com- 
monwealth." ^ And it seems probable that the code of laws 
would have completed the work. This fits in well with 
Bacon's own life and interests. The account of his life in 
the autobiographical statement already quoted ^ shows the 
two objects of his life, benefit to humanity by founding a 
new system of experimental philosophy, and by a study of 
all legal conditions. In the New Atlantis, if completed, the 



^ New Atlantis, p. 127, p. 44 of this chapter. 
* P. 42 of this chapter. 



66 Christianopolis 

second object would have been fulfilled in the code of laws, 
while the prominence of the first is clear from the esti- 
mation in which the college is held, and the purpose which 
is ascribed to it : ^ " The knowledge of our foundation 
is the knowledge of causes and secret motions of things, 
and the enlarging of the bounds of human empire, to the 
effecting of all things possible." ^ " It so fell out that there 
was in one of the boats one of the wise men of the society 
of Salomon's House, which house or college is the very 
eye of the kingdom." ^ " Ye shall understand that amongst 
the excellent acts of that king, one above all hath the pre- 
eminence. It was the erection and institution of an order or 
society which we call Salomon's House, the noblest founda- 
tion as we think that ever was upon the earth, and the 
lantern of this kingdom. It is dedicated to the study of 
the works and creatures of God." 

This object of the college, the direction in which in- 
vestigations are to be made, and the methods by which 
results are to be obtained are stated more in detail in 
succeeding pages of the New Atlantis. But only those mat- 
ters which have become practical since Bacon's time will be 
considered here. 

The organization of Salomon's House,* the College of Six 
Days' Work, is not complicated. The work is divided. 
Certain members of the staff, so-called fellows, are sent 
out into the world at definite intervals of time. It is 
their duty to visit the countries to which they are dele- 
gated, examine the conditions that exist, note the improve- 
ments and changes, especially in the " sciences, arts, manu- 
factures, and inventions," and bring back books, patterns, 
and instruments of all kinds. They are well provided with 

^ New Atlantis, p. 137. ^ New Atlantis, p. 145. 

* New Atlantis, p. 145. * New Atlantis, pp. 146-156. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 67 

money, so that everything of value is obtainable by them. 
Their reports and purchases are examined into by other 
members of the college at home. Of these, some read 
the books and test the value of experiments ; some try new 
experiments based on the results of the former; some col- 
lect and tabulate the results, and so forth. The material 
actually dealt with covers a broad field. Observation of 
wind, weather, and heavenly bodies ; analysis of soils and 
their use in forcing the growth of plants; study of trees 
and shrubs for their own improvement and the utiliza- 
tion of the fruit; study of the habits of bees and silk- 
worms ; preparation of drinks — wine, ale, and so forth, also 
of medicines and concoctions for the restoration of health; 
dissecting of bodies of animals with a view toward obtain- 
ing knowledge of the human body. In mechanics there 
are experiments dealing with motions in air and water, 
forces and projectiles, even perpetual motions.^ There is 
the study of sound, light, and smell, resulting respectively in 
new scales, colors, and odors. For the performing of these 
investigations, large and elaborate rooms have been fitted up. 
Deep caves and high towers, laboratories, sound houses, 
perfume houses, perspective houses, engine houses, and so 
forth, — each equipped according to the latest m.odels. 

Concerning the contribution which Andreae made in this 
direction, Guhrauer says the following: '' Here then (in the 
Christianopolis) principles of genuine natural science based 
upon observation and experiment, founded at the same 
time by Bacon, are applied to different faculties. And 
what is surprising, we see the plan of an academy or col- 
lege of natural science, and the sciences and arts con- 
nected therewith, with collections of specimens, gardens, 

* This was a favorite attempt among all experimenters. Comenius 
devoted considerable time to the matter. 



68 Christianopolis 

and like establishments represented in clear outlines long 
before the famous fragment of Bacon of Verulam, which 
dressed in like costume pursues like purposes, namely the 
New Atlantis, was published, which latter is usually looked 
upon as the first impetus for the founding of natural science 
academies and colleges." ^ 

Now it is perfectly true that Bacon and Andreae were 
men of somewhat similar type and that their interests fol- 
lowed similar lines. Both, one as a lawyer, the other as 
a preacher, came in touch with humanity and civilization. 
Both were led to see the conditions of society and, being of 
sympathetic and at the same time aggressive temperament, 
desired to make improvement. Both were men of letters, 
university-trained, insatiable students, and alive to all the 
ideas that were being promulgated. Both, though born and 
living in different countries, were breathing the same at- 
mosphere and moving in the same realms of thought. And 
it is especially true that in their studies, their attention had 
been repeatedly drawn to the insurmountable difficulties 
in attaining knowledge through the means thus far placed at 
their disposal. Hence one might well see how they would 
arrive at somewhat similar results, though working quite 
independently of each other. But the very striking agree- 
ment between the plans and outlines, even in some of the 
details of the institutions which they advocated, makes one 
wonder whether the facts do not justify the assumption of 
more than a coincidence. In comparison with the views 
of Bacon regarding his college as quoted earlier,^ there is 
the following from Andreae. 

Speaking of the location of the college : '' It is time that 
we go into the very innermost part of the city, which is as 

* Quoted in Gussmann's article, p. 467. 
^ Pp. 65, 66 of this chapter. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 69 

it were the soul of the city, and imparts to the latter, Hfe and 
inspiration." ^ Bacon calls his college the '' eye " and the 
'' lantern " of Bensalem. Again, " Never have I seen the like 
— so much human perfection united in one place." ^ And as 
for the directions in which advanced education branches out, 
things actually done and experiments carried out, very much 
in the New Atlantis has its counterpart in the Christianopo- 
lis. Andreae's chapter on astronomy ^ outlines the study of 
the heavenly bodies, their sizes and distances, courses of 
planets, and eclipses. Agriculture and cattle raising ^ are not 
only practiced but made a systematic study. The department 
is presided over by a man '' exceptionally well versed in the 
science of agriculture, pasturing, and cattle breeding." The 
use of fertilizer is well understood and the times when it 
may be best applied to the cultivated fields. In addition to 
the garden plot behind every dwelling house, ^ which serves 
to beautify and decorate the lot, as well as to promote the 
health of those who take care of it, there are gardens ^ in 
connection with the college containing " over a thousand 
varieties of plants, as might be called a living botany text." 
Some of these are for decorative purposes only, others are to 
be used as food, while still others are carried to the drug 
shops to be prepared as medicines. The NeW' Atlantis says 
of the plants and herbs, '' Many of them we so order as they 
become of medicinal use," "^ and '' We have dispensatories 
and medicine shops, wherein you may easily think, if we 
have such variety of plants and living creatures more than 
you have in Europe, the simples, drugs, and ingredients of 
medicines must likewise be in so much greater variety." ^ 

* Chap. xxvi. ° Chap, xxiii. 
"Chap. xxvi. ® Chap. xciv. 

^ Chap. Ixvii. ''New Atlantis, p. 158. 

* Chap. viii. ^ New Atlantis, p. 160. 



yo Christianopolis 

To return to the Christianopolis, the gardens are well or- 
dered, each class of plants having its own proper place. And 
it is especially plain that these plots are all for experimental 
purposes ; for large gardens are without the city walls where 
food materials are raised in proper amounts to supply the 
town. In the college gardens also are found birds and 
bees '' which are tended with great care/' ^ The practice of 
dissection is pursued and the principles of anatomy studied 
in an especially equipped apartment.^ As in the New At- 
lantis the bodies of animals are made the subjects, and the 
information thus obtained is used to increase the knowledge 
of anatomy, " there being nothing in the world as wonder- 
ful as the workshop of the human body, which they call a 
miniature of the universe." It is stated : " They have a 
place especially dedicated to the dissection of animals. No 
one could find fault with this practice of finding the seat of 
bodily ailments and striving to assist nature, except such 
a one as, along with barbarians, thinks it unnecessary to 
know one's self. There are even among persons who con- 
sider themselves scholars, some who know nothing about 
where they live, breathe, digest, or discharge, except that it 
is somewhere within their skins. But the teachers of Chris- 
tianopolis show the youth the operations of life from 
the organs of animals ; and sometimes they dissect a human 
body, though this is rare." ^ 

The mechanics are given their proper attention, as are 
also the crafts. Laboratories, physical and chemical, serve 
as workshops for trying out newly invented instruments. 
Minerals and metals are worked. '' In the eastern quarter 
of the city are the seven shops fitted out for melting, forg- 
ing, casting, and molding of metals. . . . Here, if any- 
where, is seen the examination of nature, since whatever the 

^ Chap. xciv. ^ Chap. xlvi. * Chap. xlvi. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 71 

earth contains in its bowels is brought under the influence 
of the laws and instruments of art ; the men are not im- 
pelled to their work without knowledge, like beasts, but 
have been long ago inspired by careful knowledge (cognitio) 
of the things of natural science, and thence take their delight 
in the bowels of nature. Unless you listen to the reasons 
and look into the anatomy of the macrocosmos, they think 
they have told and taught you nothing. Unless you deter- 
mine by experiments, and make corrections with better in- 
struments for the improvement of the arts and sciencjes, you 
are of no value. Take my word for it, if sophistry should 
wish to be considered here, it would be a mockery ; to such 
an extent do they prefer activity (res) over words. For 
here one can greet true and genuine chemistry, and can 
listen to her freely and diligently. ... In a word, here 
natural science {physic a) is active." ^ 

As one more important similarity, the conception of the 
obtainment of knowledge by inspiration, the dawning of 
'' light " must be mentioned. The Christianopolis is full of 
references to it, sometimes used purely in a religious sense 
and again with reference to an inner light, the flashes of 
genius. A few instances may be cited : in the introduction, 
'' For the return of light." ^ " That God permitted dark- 
ness to fall upon the minds of the godless." ^ " The light of 
new religion dawned within us again." * " The deceiver 
cannot withstand those who have a higher light within." ^ 
'' They recognize their mistake, or the lack of light in their 
souls." ^ " They try to remind themselves of the eternal 
light." '^ " We believe in an everlasting life in which we will 
possess perfect light, contentment, quiet, wisdom, and joy." ^ 

' Chap. xi. " P. 5. 

' P. 2. « P. 10. 

" P. 3. '' Chap. XXV. 

* P. 4- * Chap, xxviii. 



J2 Christianopolis 

" Those who know not what they want, and so, bhnd guides, 
who pride themselves with having much hght, draw others 
into the abyss who are still blinder than they." ^ " To pro- 
mote the light of truth." ^ " They will never repent that 
they have come from darkness into light." ^ 

From the New Atlantis three instances only will be cited, 
but these are important. The one object in sending men out 
from the college and having them visit foreign lands, is 
knowledge. " Thus we maintain a trade, not for gold, 
silver or jewels, nor for silks, nor for spices, nor for any 
other commodity of matter; but only for God's first crea- 
tion, which was light, to have light, I say, of the growth of 
all parts of the world." * The twelve men who go out into 
the world are called " merchants of light " ; and '' Then after 
diverse meetings and consults of our whole number, to 
consider the former labors and collections, we have three 
men that take care out of them to direct new experiments 
of a higher light, more penetrating into nature than the 
former. These we call ' lamps.' " ^ 

It is not necessary to rely solely upon the Christianopolis 
in support of this opinion. An even more striking simi- 
larity between the ideas of Bacon and Andreae is to be 
found in the Fama, which was written nine years earlier, 
and in several intermediate works where the same plan is 
found. The '' Fraternitas" is a body of men banded to- 
gether for the very same purpose as that suggested in the 
New Atlantis — " to institute a general reformation " ® and 
" a general reformation divini et humani/' "^ " to discover 
the mysteries of nature " ^ and " to study men all over the 
earth." ^ This brotherhood, beginning with only four mem- 



^ Chap, xviii. 


^New Atlantis, p. 147. 


' P. 30. 


^ Chap. xxix. 


'^ New Atlantis, p. 164. 


«P. 4. 


^ Chap, xxxiv. 


' Pp. 3, 12. 


»P. I. 



Christianopolis and The New Atlantis 73 

bers, later increased its membership to include eight, " all 
free men through whom a volume of knowledge might be 
collected of all that man could hope for." ^ The college is 
called that of the Holy Spirit. Its members travel abroad 
and learn what they can in foreign countries, but return 
upon a set date each year to the college to report, or give a 
satisfactory reason if unable to comer These are the essen- 
tials of the Fama, and, it would appear, also the elements 
of Bacon's College of Six Days. 

A few matters of importance might be spoken of in which 
the Christianopolis and the New Atlantis seem to differ con- 
siderably, or which are looked upon from a different point 
of view by the two writers. The idea of freedom, so oft 
recurring and so much emphasized in the Christianopolis, 
does not play so important a part in the New Atlantis. 
Even the political conception of the state is not quite so 
democratic as might have been expected. The plan of gov- 
ernment in the latter is monarchical and rather centralized. 
This is not surprising in view of the fact that Bacon 
had been and was on the closest terms of friendship with 
the King of England and might expect assistance or hin- 
drance according as his works met with the latter's ap- 
proval or disapproval. Nor were the Stuarts, with their 
ideas of divine right, a type to be pleased with the picture 
of an ideal state in which freedom and democracy were too 
prominent.^ 

In the foregoing pages an effort has been made to point 

' P. 13. ' Pp. 15 f. 

* In the Nezv Atlantis (pp. 154, ISS) we have a lengthy description 
of the history, early prominence, and decay of the civiHzation of 
America, the large Atlantis. This is a matter which, naturally 
wanting in the Christianopolis, can be easily accounted for from the 
close relations existing between America and England in Bacon's 
time. The description of the clothes and costumes worn on state 
occasions corresponds well with the elaborateness and gaudy colors 



74 Christianopolis 

out that, contrary to the opinion of most commentators on 
Bacon, his was not the first Utopia which definitely outlined 
an ideal state built upon the basis of modern philosophy ; and 
that his college of scientific research based upon an experi- 
mental method of reasoning was preceded several years by 
another, just as carefully outlined and completely detailed as 
his own ; that the elements of the college were present in the 
Fama, which was published a decade before the N ew Atlantis 
was composed, and was circulated as early as 1610/ More- 
over, it is not at all impossible both from his close associa- 
tion with continental scholars and from the intimate and 
international character of the learning of the time that 
Bacon knew these very works either directly or indirectly. 
A careful comparison of the two Utopias definitely eliminates 
any suggestion of mere coincidence and makes the mental 
kinship of Bacon and Andreae almost indubitable. 

of dress in the i6th and 17th centuries at the English court. The 
Christianopolis is simpler in this respect, and on like occasions 
when great and good men are to be described, speaks of the face 
and bearing rather than of the dress. On the other hand, Andreae's 
interest in music and art, the fact that he was himself musical and 
a critic of art, explain the prominence given in his Utopia to 
these features. Such evidences of the personality and environment 
of the two authors are noticeable in other parts of their ideal 
states, which need not be mentioned. 

^ A Latin translation of the Fama appeared as early as 1614, and 
it is quite probable that through this version Bacon became ac- 
quainted with Andreae's ideas. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE CHRISTIANOPOLIS AND NOVA SOLYMA 

The immediate effect of the Christiano polls in Germany 
was not so great as might have been expected; it did not 
become the pattern for other works of a similar nature, nor 
was its publication received with startling enthusiasm. This 
will not seem so strange, however, when we remember that 
Andreae was as yet not very well known as a writer and 
had only local reputation as a man of ability and knowl- 
edge of social and religious conditions. His chief works 
previous to this time had been published anonymously and he 
himself stood decidedly in the background. An additional 
explanation for the fact that the Christiano polis met with 
seemingly little success, will be found in the horrors of the 
Thirty Years' War, with its wholesale slaughter of citi- 
zens, destruction of property, devastation of whole sections 
of countries, and dissipation of the vital strength of the 
German states. Such conditions were not conducive to the 
composing of '* ideal states," nor encouraging even to the 
studying of works that were calculated to reform church, 
state, and school system. Germany had first to recover 
sufficiently from the effects of the war to be able to plan 
calmly for future improvement. Thus we find that while the 
production of More, a man of national fame, had been en- 
thusiastically received by his own countrymen, read, re- 
edited, and even committed to memory,^ Andreae's Chris- 
^ Morley : Ideal Commonwealths^ Introduction, p. 7. 
75 



"jd Christianopolis 

tianopoUs, the work of a private citizen, pastor, and teacher 
in a small community, was covered up and all but lost and 
forgotten. 

In England social and political conditions were not in 
the same state of actual turmoil either at the time when 
the Christianopolis was published or during the decades 
immediately following. While the country was politically 
unsettled and almost on the verge of civil rupture, it was 
not actually being devastated by war. On the contrary, the 
national mind was occupied with just such problems of edu- 
cational and social improvement. The elements of reform 
took root sufficiently to survive the shock of civil war when 
it did come. It will become evident that Andreae's ideas on 
education and science, as contained in the Christianopolis, 
were carried over to England by some of his friends and 
admirers at home; and that the atmosphere there proved 
more conducive than in Germany to their further develop- 
ment and ultimate practical application. It is a remarkable 
fact that seventeenth-century England produced a number 
of Utopias. Whether this is due to an exceptional inclina- 
tion of the English mind toward the Utopia, or whether it is 
to be explained by the state of religious agitation of this 
period and widely spread chiliastic hopes of the religious 
sects, it is difficult to decide. 

Among the half-dozen Utopias, then, that were produced 
on English soil, one in particular has an especial claim 
upon our consideration^ — first, because it shows some new 
features in the development of Utopias as yet little no- 
ticed by those who have concerned themselves with this 
subject; and secondly, because it bears a close relation to 
the work which forms the center of the present dis- 
cussion. 

Nova Solyma appeared anonymously in 1648. It was 



The Christianopolis and Nova Solyma "j^j 

written in Latin, consisted of six books, and bore on the 
title page only the words : 

Novae Solymae Libri Sex. 
Londoni Typis Joannis Legati MDCXLVIII 

The following year a second edition was issued in which the 
title was supplemented by the words '' Sive Institutio Chris- 
Hani/' followed by a heading for each of the six books. It 
is also noted that the work was printed for Thomas Under- 
bill, among whose books it is catalogued in the British Mu- 
seum. No further notice seems to have been taken of Nova 
Solyma. At least we find no reference to it in the literature 
of the period. In 1902, however, the entire work appeared, 
translated into English, accompanied by a long introduction 
and with elaborate notes. The editor of this publication was 
the Reverend Walter Begley. In his commentaries Mr. 
Begley makes a very thorough comparison of Nova Solyma 
with the various works of John Milton, and cites innumer- 
able detailed examples of construction, style, vocabulary, 
phraseology and thought, to prove that Milton was the au- 
thor of this work. Begley divides his argument into a 
series of proofs — proofs from music, poetry, pedagogy, and 
so forth, and finally proof by elimination. Then in his con- 
clusion he states : " The authorship of this romance must 
clearly be confined to a very small class of men. Neither 
Shakespeare nor Bacon could by any possibility have pro- 
duced such a book as this even if the date allowed the sup- 
position. No one but a first-rate Latinist could have writ- 
ten our romance. . . . As a matter of fact the book could 
not have been written by any then-living Englishman except 
such men as Alexander Ross, Phineas Fletcher, Dr. Duport, 
Thomas May, Thomas Farnaby, Andrew Marvell, Cleve- 
land, Cowley, Crashaw, and men of that stamp of erudition. 



78 Christianopolis 

Now let any scholar try this list of names severally, by the 
contents of Nova Solyma — by its tone, its sentiment, its 
opinions, its sublimities both in prose and verse, its main- 
tained seriousness, its religious principles, and its inde- 
pendent theories, — then I think these names will disappear 
from the list of probable candidates, and they will be 
weeded out one by one till all are gone.'* Milton, there- 
fore, he concludes, must be the author of the book. 

Quite by accident it has become known that, while Milton 
may have influenced the work to some degree, the real au- 
thor was quite another person — a man of whom Begley 
probably never heard. Stephen K. Jones ^ states that while 
collating Baxter's Holy Commonwealth he happened to 
notice among the books printed for Thomas Underbill, a list 
of three, whose author was Samuel Gott. The first one of 
these was the Nova Solyma. 

Samuel Gott is a man almost entirely unknown to-day, 
and mentioned in none of the encyclopedias or histories of 
literature. He was born in 1613. His father, also Samuel 
Gott, was a dealer in iron, and seems to have been a man 
of some means, for in 1640 his name is mentioned among 
those merchants from whom the king hoped to borrow 
money. The younger Gott completed the Merchants' 
Tailors' School and continued his education at St. Cath- 
erine's College, Cambridge. Here he took the bachelor's 
degree in 1632. The following year he became a member 
of the Society of Gray's Inn and in 1640 was admitted to 
the bar. There is no evidence that he ever practiced law. 
After his father's death in 1642, he married, retired to a 
country estate, and lived privately until shortly before the 
time of the return of the Stuarts. After a few years' resi- 
dence in London, during which time he was elected an 

* The Library, July, 1910, p. 225. 



The Christianopolis and Nova Solyma 79 

" Ancient," he again withdrew to his home at Battle, where 
in all probability he stayed until his death, which occurred 
in 1671. 

Begley in his argument for Milton's authorship of Nova 
Solyma speaks ^ of the prominent part which was being 
played at this time in England by four men, all close 
friends and associates of Milton. These men, John Dury, 
Samuel Hartlib, Theodore Haacke, and William Petty, will 
be considered more closely in the following chapter. 
They were all vitally interested in the general subject 
of education; they were the ones who kept agitating 
the subject of the founding of a society for the study of 
the natural sciences. It was Hartlib to whom Milton ad- 
dressed his Tractate on Education in 1644. It was Hart- 
lib who became more and more interested in the idea of 
a " reformation work " and in 1647 presented to the High 
Court of Parliament certain considerations on reformed edu- 
cation and the redressing of public evils for the advance- 
ment of God's *' Universal Kingdom " and the general com- 
munion of His saints. These are phrases that occur in 
Nova Solyma ^ and are, as Begley points out, favorite ex- 
pressions with Hartlib and Dury in their doctrine of unity 
in churches. In 1649, the year after the first issue of Nova 
Solyma, Hartlib edited a work by Dury, in which the latter 
begins by saying: "We (referring to his group of investi- 
gators) are upon the design of a public reformation; 
herein everybody is one way or another, if not engaged yet 
concerned, some more, some less, some in private, some in 
a public way." ^ Now, as has been stated, Gott took his 
degree from Cambridge in 1632. This was also the year in 
which John Milton completed his course at the same institu- 

* Begley, op. cit, I, pp. 311 ff. ' I, p. 86. 

^ Nova Solyma, I, p. 313. 



8o Christianopolis 

tion. There can hardly be any doubt that Gott was ac- 
quainted and closely associated during the succeeding years 
with the same group of men as was Milton, especially since 
he was constantly at work on the same problems, as his 
authorship of Nova Solyma proves, which were occupying 
their minds. But these very men were the warmest ad- 
mirers of Comenius, the friend and co-worker of Andreae, 
and even corresponded with Andreae himself.^ Hence all 
the arguments brought out by Begley (and they are many) 
to prove that Milton must have written Nova Solyma, be- 
cause he knew Hartlib, Dury, and the others well, and 
because so many of the ideas contained in the work are 
clearly theirs — this argument and testimony have now 
double effect in proving the connection between Nova 
Solyma and Andreae, since Gott, through these men, had 
direct relations to Andreae and his group. 

The Utopia now to be considered shows a number of dif- 
ferences from all those that have preceded. It is not a 
brief summary of laws, education, religion, and customs — a 
description of conditions in an ideal city, with the evident 
and one purpose of making these known. But in Nova 
Solyma we have a long romance, with various characters 
and incidents — love, rivalry, robbery, bloodshed, pageants, 
and feasts, with scenes shifting to different countries, even 
continents — all interwoven and combined in a novel of 
somewhat modern type. Yet it is didactic throughout, and 
built up on a system of education — a moral and a religious 
code which are always discernible. That Gott meant to 
teach certain truths, and merely clothed them in the dress 
of romance to make the whole easy and interesting reading, 
is plain from the titles of the six books which are given 
on the first page of the second (1649) issue. For the au- 

^ M. C. G., II, p. 236. 



The Christianopolis and Nova Solyma 8i 

thor, the important facts are summed up: i) Boys. 2) The 
creation of the world. 3) Youth. 4) Sin. 5) The age of 
the adult. 6) The redemption of man. And in fact these 
single words contain the kernel of the respective books. 

Two young men, students at Cambridge, have heard of 
the famous republic in the East, and being filled with a 
desire to learn of the place first-hand, they set out without 
the consent of their parents and arrive at Nova Solyma, 
after having on the way taken into their services a young 
man who proves to be the son of the chief ruler of the city, 
and the hero of the story. It might be noted here that 
Nova Solyma is evidently on the site of the biblical Jeru- 
salem. This statement is not made definitely, but several 
references would strongly imply it. The young Cambridge 
students^ (and later their father also),- on leaving Dover, 
take ship for Joppa. In the second instance, the journey is 
made from Joppa to Nova Solyma on horses, and requires a 
considerable part of one day. Now as Joppa is the nearest 
seaport to Jerusalem and as the distance is thirty or thirty- 
five miles, the locations of Jerusalem and Nova Solyma 
might well be the same. The description of the place cor- 
responds with that of Jerusalem, Nova Solyma being built on 
a hill (possibly on hills ).^ The walls "stand four square " 
and there are twelve gates named after the twelve tribes, as 
in the biblical account.* It is stated that " not a vestige of 
the old Solyma remains, but its glories are renewed on a 
larger scale." ^ Furthermore, the return of the Jews after 
their conversion was to be to the city of Jerusalem, and this 
was the indication of the Millennium.^ 

To continue the narrative, these young men are hos- 

* I, P- 98. * Ezekiel xlviii, 31, and Revelation xxi, 12. 

MI, p. 181. "Cf. Luke xix, 44. 

" 1, p. 78. " Jeremiah xxxi, 8 ff. 



82 Christianopolis 

pitably taken up and taught the principles by which the 
inhabitants of Nova Solyma govern their lives. The visi- 
tors make many mistakes and at such times are kindly cor- 
rected by their host. In the course of their stay they visit 
the schools and are given information as to the system of 
education — elementary and advanced — by v^^hich the youth 
is trained. They also attend festivities and celebrations, 
witness death-bed scenes and funerals, and become ac- 
quainted with a representative number of persons in the 
city. A love affair, whose beginning dates from the first 
day they spend in Nova Solyma, continues throughout the 
story, and culminates in the marriage of the two young 
men to the daughters of their friend and host — the chief 
ruler. 

This is in very brief the romance — occupying in time ex- 
actly one year, the annual pageant following immediately 
upon the general election being used to introduce as well as 
to conclude the story. The events themselves, by no means 
uninterestingly told, are interspersed, sometimes even inter- 
rupted, by lectures, religious teachings, moral discourses, 
recitations of poetry, by hymns and songs. Individuals tell 
the outward events of their lives, as well as their inner ex- 
periences. It is thus that the reader becomes acquainted 
with the history of the state, and those facts and principles 
which the author wishes to make known — the proper rela- 
tion which should exist between man and man, the object of 
education, and the relation of the individual to the state — the 
extreme importance of a clean, religious life. It will be the 
purpose of this chapter to summarize the teachings of Nova 
Solyma, and compare them in essentials with those of 
the Christianopolis, with which they have so much in com- 
mon, and upon which they seem to be based. 

It might well be supposed that Gott, living in the same 



The Christianopolis and Nova Solyma 83 

country with Francis Bacon, whose New Atlantis had been 
pubHshed some twenty years earlier and had been wel- 
comed with such great enthusiasm at home and in other 
countries, would model his novel upon the Utopia of his 
already famous fellow-countryman. And it is not the pur- 
pose here to deny that Bacon's ideal state did have its in- 
fluence upon, and help to furnish material and ideas for 
Gott. There are numerous traces of such an influence in 
the form and in the content of Nova Solyma. But in the 
main, Gott's object was an entirely different one from that 
of Bacon, and in this main object Gott has followed quite 
a different model. The most important points in Gott's 
mind were neither law (to which Bacon intended to devote 
the second half of his work, had he been able to complete 
it) nor yet scientific discovery and invention as such, to 
which, however, he does pay some attention as an element 
in his chief general scheme. Gott's highest aim is the 
plan of a system of education, beginning with children, and 
continuing through life, resulting in a broad, full, and 
complete development for the individual, in the field and 
the directions for which he is best adapted by natural 
talents; and thus furnishing capable and energetic citizens 
for the community, able and willing to discharge their 
proper obligations to neighbor, state, and God. While it 
is true that no specific statement is made regarding the edu- 
cation of girls, the implication is very strong that they are 
not neglected. For the two sisters of the hero are well- 
bred, well-developed, physically and mentally, and entirely 
fit to associate with the men of the family and their guests. 
Furthermore, the two boys of the family are, until their 
tenth year, under the partial charge and tutorage of a 
matron,^ whose experience is thought beneficial to their 

^ I, pp. 109-128. 



84 Christianopolis 

early years. In the pages just referred to, she tells the 
boys a long story — a fairy tale — to impress upon them les- 
sons of right and wrong, and to instruct how to distinguish 
between them " by the critical faculty." It is hardly likely 
that boys, the importance of the education of whose early 
years is mentioned several times, would be left in the care 
of ignorant and untrained individuals. One cannot agree 
entirely, then, with Begley's statement ^ when he says, 
that throughout the whole work, as also in preceding writ- 
ings of the sort, " girls are entirely ignored," even though 
the reference to their education is only by implication. 

Gott's system of education begins with the children. The 
two sons of the chief man in the city are taken as examples, 
because the visitors are staying at the home of the latter, 
while in the city, and naturally come into contact with the 
members of his family circle. These boys are respectively 
nine and ten years of age. They have been in the care 
of women as well as men, that they might get advantages of 
the kindness of the one and the firmness of the other sex. 
'' As soon as children can stand on their feet and begin to 
walk, they are taught to do so, gracefully and firmly " 
..." after that we practice running. . . . Dancing, 
swimming, archery and such like pursuits receive atten- 
tion." ^ . . . " And thus we do not, like the Europeans, 
regard culture as consisting mainly in the accomplish- 
ments and training of the mind, and take hardly any 
account of the body; nor yet like the barbarians do we 
dispense with all mental training and book learning because 
we share their high opinion of a strong and enduring 
frame. We follow the glorious examples of the Greeks and 
Romans and pay our regard to both mind and body." ^ 
" Our highest endeavor is to kindle into flame the spark 

^ I, p. 94; note. ^I, p. 91. * I» P- Qi. 



The Christianopolis and Nova Solyma 85 

of genius that may be latent in each; for we cannot hope 
that those who only follow the trite and vulgar pursuits 
of the mob, can ever be so fired with enthusiasm as to 
dare, I will not say to do, any truly great and noble act. 
Meanwhile we season their minds with the salt of sober- 
ness and self-restraint, lest by want of it they should fall into 
the splendid sins of the pagan world." ^ 

Grammar and mathematics are taught early, as these 
sciences have close connection with daily life; and they 
are taught as much as may be objectively. They also 
'* attach importance to the proper exercise of faith and 
imagination." ^ Impurity and dishonesty are rooted out, or 
rather prevented by anticipation. So the children are 
brought up to worship God and love their country, reverence 
parents and elders, and treat each other with considera- 
tion. And an effort is made that this form of education 
be made available to as many children as possible. " Our 
plan is to have prudent men of experience who can be 
questioned and consulted — who are, so to speak, inspec- 
tors and directors of education. And besides these we 
have public discourses held frequently in all parts of the 
land, not only of a religious nature, but on ethics, the 
family life, and such topics. And so you see our educa- 
tion gives an entrance to the family circle ; and although 
it cannot be successful everywhere, still if anyone is gifted 
with abilities out of the common, it looks after him and 
looks after his career. No one with natural endowments 
of a higher order is allowed to remain unnoticed and 
neglected from the obscurity of his birth, as is so often 
the case elsewhere. Nor are the less gifted despised on 
that account and reckoned unworthy of such educational 
care. Indeed we use especial endeavors in their case that 

* I, p. 93. ' I, p. 94. 



86 Christianopolis 

they may be able at least to rise to the full height of 
their capacity." ^ 

Thus far the matter has been one of the preliminary edu- 
cation at home. The second stage in the education of the 
youth is the entrance into the public academy.^ The reader 
is introduced to this, by accompanying the older brother and 
his two visiting friends as they take the ten-year-old boy to 
enter the institution. After some mutual greetings and in- 
troductory remarks, the head tutor at the request of the 
visitors, outlines their method and courses. He begins, 
" The founders of our republic, in their zealous inquiry 
how best to establish it on a sound basis, put the educa- 
tion of the rising generation in the very forefront of all 
means to that end. They held the opinion that good laws, 
an effective army, and all the other defenses of a state, 
were of comparatively no avail if obedience and benevolence 
and the other virtues which tend to the well-being of man- 
kind were not early planted in the minds of the young. . . . 
Therefore they spared neither skill nor labor nor expense 
in properly preparing the ground at this critical period of 
youth. Especially did they bestow every care on this great 
public school, or academy, intended for the flower of the 
age, and to be an example for all other teaching institu- 
tions in the land." ^ " The first and chief care is to induce 
the religious habit of mind, the next to inculcate the ethical 
duties, and the last care (which others make their first) 
is a liberal education, both literary and scientific. Our re- 
ligious training is mainly directed to the feelings of a 
spiritual character." * 

When a boy enters the school, the tutors spend as much 
time with him as possible to learn his personality — the faults 

* I, p. 96. ° I, p. 235. 

' I, p. 129. * I, p. 239, pp. 93, 94 of this chapter. 



The Christianopolis and Nova Solyma 87 

and the vices, the accomplishments and the virtues, as also 
the preferences in subjects. By a psychological process of 
directing the energies, the evil tendencies can be and are 
diverted into different channels, without retarding develop- 
ment and growth. Each pupil is considered separately and 
treated peculiarly according to his own special needs. He is 
trained for that position and occupation in life which will 
best suit him, at which he will be able to make greatest 
success and be most contented, and which will therefore 
make him fit to render the highest possible services to the 
community in which he is to live. 

In order that one may know the essentials of statecraft 
and government, and the duties toward the same, it is neces- 
sary to have studied the history of the peoples of past 
times. And that this may be done most successfully, it 
should be in the language of the peoples themselves. Hence 
general instruction is given ^ in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, 
the last named being of course in this city the native 
tongue. All are used in daily conversation, sometimes the 
one and then the other; for only thus can the real soul of 
the language be mastered. Furthermore, the foreign con- 
temporary languages are taught, especially those of the 
countries with which Nova Solyma comes into commercial 
contact. They are not satisfied with a mere makeshift 
knowledge ; but exact pronunciation, use of idioms, and the 
" genius of the tongue " ^ are carefully sought after. Thus 
they not only can carry on all correspondence and conver- 
sation with their trade countries, but are not " subject to 
ridicule nor exposed to loss of dignity " ^ when using the 
foreign tongue ; in reading the works of an author it is not 
the exact translation of a word that counts, but " the 
M, pp. 245, 246. * I, p. 246. ' I, p. 246. 



88 Christianopolis 

' genius ' of the work is revealed and the book, so to speak, 
becomes ahve — not a mere dead letter." ^ 

Specialization takes place in the education of each indi- 
vidual when he becomes ready for it; and such specializa- 
tion is in the direction in which the greatest talent, interest, 
and ability have been shown. In the school of letters and 
art,^ prizes are offered for proficiency in style of writing, 
rhetoric (by which are to be understood oratory and 
debate), poetry, drama, and the novel. "Rhetoric within 
the bounds of prudent restraints is a most powerful 
weapon, and can be turned to the highest use." ^ This is the 
opening sentence of a long eulogy upon rhetoric in which 
the tutor mentions its many practical applications. The 
artificial flourishes of the haranguer are scorned, as well as 
bombast and '' logical puzzles " in writing. Poetry is one 
of the highest forms of literature, and it is taught to all 
students. For though only few become expert, yet the 
training in it gives a touch of refinement which is not to be 
attained in any other way.* The poetry of Nova Solyma 
is entirely of a religious nature, and excellent examples of 
adaptations of the psalms, as well as original themes, epic 
and dramatic, are to be found in the records of the school. 
In his discussion of the novel, the author permits to be seen 
his objections to the cheap love-stories that at the time 
were being circulated — to a considerable extent imported 
from Spain or built upon the picaresque model. The ideal 
of the novel in Nova Solyma is that of a book (the name 
of book and author being concealed) whose argument is the 

' I, p. 247. 
^ I, p. 250. 

" I, p. 253. 

* Poetry plays the same part in Gott's system of education that 
painting does in Andreae's (cf. p. 36, above, and Christianopolis, 
chap, xlviii). 



The Christianopolis and Nova Solyma 89 

history of a life that is free, that has received a liberal 
education and has been well and religiously brought up. 
The story keeps within the limits of human possibility, 
and deals as a rule with those in the middle ranks of life 
" who are the best and certainly not the least numerous." 
It is, then, a biographical, realistic production in the 
'' Biirger " life that Gott would recommend. There are 
certain pupils who, after reasonable effort, show that they 
are not adapted to a literary career. These are trained 
to some craft, or find useful employment in farming. 

The beginning of all education is nature. This is true 
whether the matter in hand be a subject like public speak- 
ing (where, as has already been seen, naturalness is the 
first requirement) or whether it be in the line of scientific 
research. " Human ingenuity produces certain extras, but 
from no other source than nature do they come. For 
what, I pray, can a cook or a physician or a chemist pro- 
duce except the preparation or the distillation of natural 
products? Nay more, the most peculiar and admirable 
results of art, if we thoroughly look into them, we shall 
find to be commonplace and inconsiderable ; for indeed, the 
very best of them, have been discovered rather than in- 
vented." ^ " And religion too has its original foundation 
in the very bosom of nature." ^ 

In answer to the question '' Do you then wish us all to 
become philosophers and adepts in the chemistry of na- 
ture?" the tutor informs his visitor, "Yes I do, if you are 
such adepts as to be able to extract the meaning of the 
divine goodness, and such philosophers as to look at com- 
mon things with no common views. Philosophers have 
been wont to let their studies end in the desire for knowl- 
edge and fame only, and have not used them as they ought, 

' I, p. 165. ' I, p. 225. 



go Christianopolis 

to God's praise and glory. Now the special advantage of 
natural science is to rise from nature to nature's God, trac- 
ing His footsteps everywhere therein." ^ And nature fur- 
nishes a spectacle worthy of the deeper consideration of the 
inward eye. 

The physical development of the boys at academy or 
college is not neglected. There is a gymnasium, in and near 
which all kinds of " exercises and games are practiced — 
running, leaping, games of ball and the quoit, swimming in 
the baths, riding, drilling, marching," ^ and so on ; in these 
the students are not only encouraged, but obliged to take 
part. At all such regular athletic sports masters are present 
to assist and coach, as well as to check any improper be- 
havior ; '' for nowhere is a boy's natural disposition more 
clearly discovered than when in excited play."^ 

As advanced work for students * who have already ob- 
tained their degree in arts, two lecture halls are provided 
— the one in which lectures are heard in philosophy and 
civil prudence, the other which is fitted up and equipped 
for theology, medicine, and jurisprudence. Only the very 
best professors and lecturers are engaged, and at the high- 
est salaries, to superintend the work here; and students 
are given more liberty than in their previous years. A 
word should be said here also concerning the type of teach- 
ers employed in all the grades of the schools, and the 
standing of such men. The following description is given 
by the visitors who are being conducted through the school 
by the head master : " The tutor was well advanced in 
years, of grave and commanding appearance; but his kind 
eyes, pleasant voice, and sweet expression all pointed to the 
best of dispositions. The inhabitants of Nova Solyma do not 

' I, p. 171. ' I» p. 304. 

' I, p. 304. * n, p. 7. 



The Christianopolis and Nova Solyma 91 

hold schoolmasters in contempt, as so many other nations 
do, nor do they class them simply as superior servants, who 
have to see chiefly that the children are kept safe and do 
not get into mischief. On the contrary, they are classed 
with the chief magistrates of the nation ; and especially are 
those schoolmasters held in honor who have charge of the 
young and untrained, for they are invested with the Order 
of the Sun, appropriately enough too; for the sun is the 
dispeller of all darkness, and renders possible the active 
duties of life." ^ 

Closely identified with the educational system, is the 
religious training ; and hand in hand with the latter goes the 
use of music. Nova Solyma ^ is a city of christianized 
Jews. After a long, wandering, and unsettled life, caused 
by *' that most awful deed of crime committed by the fore- 
fathers," the chosen people again find themselves under one 
government. For a " sudden flash of divine light " re- 
moved the " stubborn mental darkness " that had existed. 
And it is now fifty years since the nation has been restored 
to prosperity and contentment. Here appears the chiliastic 
character of the Utopia. 

The highest ideal in life is the religious ideal. '' Even 
as knowledge is the servant of morality, so both are true 
servants of religion." ^ One of the chief themes of the story 
is the enlightenment and complete conversion of the two 
young men who have sought out the republic from a desire 
to know its inner life. Apollos, Joseph, and Jacob — the 
three chief religious teachers mentioned — take every occa- 
sion to turn the thoughts of the young men to a realization 
of the importance of the future life. Two death-bed scenes 
are used for this purpose also. Here are shown the agony 
of a sinful soul near the moment of its departure from the 

*I, p. 234. M, p. 88. • I, p. 306. 



92 Christianopolis 

earth ; ^ and the contentment and peacef ulness of one at the 
time of death whose life has been an attempt to coincide 
with the Divine Will.^ 

'' Inner hght/* " inner feeling," and " revelation " are 
expressions often used. " Flashes of light/' ^ " Excess of 
heavenly light," * " Dark places made plain as it were by the 
light of heaven," ^ " true renewed life of the soul, and a 
lively exercise and warm experience of faith," ^ " that inner 
life of the soul," ^ '' the fierce light of all sciences," ^ " the 
sweetness and light of the intellectual life," ^ '' We believe 
every good gift cometh from the same source of divine 
light," ^^ " Tis true, I see sometimes a slight ray of 
omnipotent grace flitting across the darkness of my night, 
with frequent flashes as from some tiny crevice," ^^ " The 
light of divine favor seemed to beam on his soul," ^^ '' The 
only authority in all cases is divine truth," ^^ " like rays of 
heavenly light breaking through their former gloom," ^* 
" Clear light of heaven into my poor dark soul," ^^ " And 
each glorified saint shall give forth, as doth a lantern, its 
own inner light," ^^ are a few of the very frequent refer- 
ences to the subject. 

There are long discourses, lectures, and private talks on 
religious and philosophical subjects — the origin of the 
world,^'' origin of evil in the world,^^ discourse on the sab- 
bath,^® prayer,2° conception of God.^^ And all point to one 
conclusion: The true religion is that of Jesus Christ; real 
happiness consists in adapting of the will to that of God. 

* II, p. i8o. ' I, p. 227. " II, p. 217. 

' II, p. 67. ° I, p. 238. " 11, pp. 219 and 220. 

' I, p. 88. " I, p. 245. " I. P- 178, and II, p. 9. 

* I, p. 195. " n, p. 168. " II, p. 26. 

» I, p. 222. " II, p. 196. " II, p. 190. 

" I, p. 223. " II, p. 196. '" II, p. 193. 

' I, p. 225. " II, p. 207. " II, p. 149. 



The Christianopolis and Nova Solyma 93 

A pure, active, and unselfish life is the outward evidence of 
Christianity within. 

" The people of Nova Solyma take great delight in the 
art of music." ^ *' It has indeed a subtle influence, yet so 
elevating and vehement that it seems to throw an enchant- 
ment on the mind, nor has God failed to include this natural 
and suitable instrument among the adjuncts of worship. 
. . . The human voice is the fittest instrument wherewith 
to praise God." ^ In Nova Solyma the singing of psalms 
stands next to prayer in religious devotion. 

The educational system, the religious views, and the 
proper use of music have now been outlined as they exist 
in Nova Solyma. A comparison of these with the views 
held by the inhabitants of Christianopolis will show like- 
nesses that cannot fail to point to a knowledge on the 
part of Gott of the *' Christian state " of Andreae. Though 
involving some slight repetition of the material of a preced- 
ing chapter, it will be necessary to cite a few references from 
the Christianopolis. Where a subject has been discussed 
in previous chapters, a page reference merely will be given. 

The most striking similarity is found in the very kernel 
of the educational systems of the two Utopias. In the 
Nova Solyma the essence of the system is twice mentioned, 
once in detail ^ and once in substance.* The Christianopolis 
gives the same thought exactly, and almost the identical 
words and phraseology.^ " The most important duty is to 
reverence God with a pure and worshipful soul; next, to 
cultivate pious and unsullied morals, and finally to train the 
mind." In both instances there is added in parentheses as 

^ I, p. 103. 

' 11, p. 195. 

' I, p. 239, and p. 86 of this chapter. 

* I, p. 88, and p. 91 of this chapter. 

* Chap. liv. 



94 Christianopolis 

an afterthought : ''" This order is regularly inverted in the 
world." It would not be surprising that these two men, 
religious in their make-up, should put religion first in im- 
portance in their Utopias ; nor need it be startling even, that 
the other two items should follow in the same order. But 
inasmuch as in both Utopias this particular matter is taken 
as the basis for all the rest, the prominence given to the 
statements and the exact similarity of the means of expres- 
sion cease to appear as a mere coincidence. 

Up to the age of six in the Christianopolis, ten in the 
Nova Solyma, children are educated at home. At this 
period they are given over by their parents to the public 
boarding school, but with earnest prayer.^ So also the 
Christianopolis: " Youth the most valuable treasure of the 
republic," ^ and " Not without fervent prayer." ^ And in 
Nova Solyma: " Youth the most important item in the 
state." * 

As in Nova Solyma ^ so in Christianopolis, the instruc- 
tors are men of the highest talent and ability, and the 
description tallies remarkably. In the latter, instructors are 
of " mature years, virtuous, upright, industrious ; " they de- 
velop the pupils, are held in high esteem, and are capable 
in their departments.^ Here as there, the pupils are kept 
under close observation and taught as individuals. 

In the study of languages, the same principles and pur- 
poses exactly are mentioned. In the Christianopolis,'^ as 
has already been seen in Nova Solyma,^ the classics and the 

'^ Nova Solyma, I, p. 239 ; p. 86 of this chapter. 

^ Chap. Ixxix. 

' Chap. liii. 

^ I, p. 235 ; p. 86 of this chapter. 

^ I, p. 234; pp. 90, 91 of this chapter. 

* Chaps. Hi, liii, and liv. 

' Chap. Ivii. 

^ I, pp. 245 f. ; p. 87 of this chapter. 



The Christianopolis and Nova Solyma 95 

modern languages are taught — the former, to prepare men 
to understand ancient civilization, the latter that inter- 
course with other states may be facilitated. They also 
learn the languages rapidly; and are surprised that Euro- 
peans waste years in acquiring one language. And here 
again, the essence and concrete meaning of the language is 
considered more important than the abstract grammar. 

Rhetoric ^ is emphasized — but not the unnatural applica- 
tion of it. " Without the natural gift (natura) the accom- 
plishment is tasteless, and shows rather something forced, 
than ingenious." Poetry and music are in Christianopolis, 
as in Nova Solyma, auxiliary forces to religion. " Choral 
singing, and singing and chanting of psalms play an im- 
portant part in private as in public worship." With them ^ 
music is no small part of the worship. ** They praise God 
especially with words (that is, singing), then also with 
harps . . . and all kinds of instruments." ^ 

In both cities the colleges of theology, medicine, and 
law * are located closely together and are so treated. They 
are for the advanced students. Students in the Chris- 
tianopolis have courses in physical training ^ as in Nova 
Solyma. The same forms of exercise are employed, and 
under strict superintendency.^ 

The similarities in religious matters as such, the sacra- 
ments, baptism and the Lord's Supper,'' prayer, worship 
forms, and so forth, have been sufficiently discussed and 

^ Chap. Ivi ; cf . also p. 32, above. 

' Chap, Ixxxv. 

' Cf. Nova Solyma, II, p. 195 ; p. 93 of this chapter. 

* Christianopolis, chaps. Ixxvii, Ixxviii, and Ixxix; Nova Solyma, 
11, p. 7. 

" Christianopolis, chap. liv. 

* Nova Solyma, I, p. 304 ; p. 84 of this chapter. 

"^ Christianopolis, chap. Ixxxvi; Nova Solyma, II, p. 198; pp. 91, 92 
of this chapter. 



96 Christianopolis 

require no further comparisons. Politics, society, family re- 
lations, and so forth, are wonderfully alike in both states. 
The governments are democratic, built up on principles of 
liberty; and the note of freedom is loudly sounded through- 
out. So in Nova Solyma, "If any humanly authorized 
power denies this principle (that is, of liberty and re- 
ligion), it is the people's duty to resist and death itself 
is to be chosen in preference to such an unjust and mon- 
strous tyranny." ^ " Liberty of judgment is conceded to 
us, and recommended." ^ '' We have indeed liberty of 
will." ^ In the Christianopolis " Christian freedom, there- 
fore, cannot tolerate even restrictions, much less threats." * 
Yet this feeling of freedom does not in any way lean 
toward license, is not at all anarchistic. It is the inner 
freedom that regulates the individual will, and makes 
it voluntarily obedient to a just, higher authority. Hence 
also patriotism is strongly developed. Of this there are 
numerous suggestions. In Nova Solyma " That he must 
needs relieve his mind in a joyous song of home and 
fatherland." ^ Again, " The affairs of the state should 
have a special call upon us." ^ '' We are joined in family 
and state by the closest ties." And in the Christianopolis 
" Those who have deserved well of their native country 
have here an enviable reputation." " 

The home life in Nova Solyma follows the same prin- 
ciple as in the Christianopolis. Filial obedience is the rule. 
Children are polite and respectful.^ The disrespect shown 
by the two Cambridge students in leaving Europe for the 
East without the knowledge of their parents, is severely 
rebuked by Jacob — the chief ruler of Nova Solyma. Again 

^ I, p. 224. * Chap. xix. ^ Chap. xli. 

MI, p. 196. "I,?. 175. M,P. 99. 

' II, p. 170. " I, p. 243. 



The Christianopolis and Nova Solyma 97 

the parting of father and son ^ when the ten-year-old boy- 
leaves for academy, is indicative of the closest ties between 
the two. Even after the children grow up they are expected 
to look to parents for advice and suggestion. So Joseph, 
the grown son of Jacob, says, '' that he is not yet independent 
of paternal authority, and is simply a member of the family 
council." 2 And at the time of marriage, the consent of the 
parents of both parties is necessary. ** Now since marriage 
is in a way the granting of freedom to one's children, and 
sending them forth into a new colony or home, it not 
only requires the consent of the parents, but before that, 
it requires that they should be consulted. . . . Certainly 
it can scarcely be expected, that God will approve of that 
marriage of which the parents disapprove." ^ These ideas 
of filial obedience and marriage have been brought out in the 
Christianopolis already. Marriage is then a sacred institu- 
tion sanctioned and approved by parents and by God ; and 
patience must be exercised to make it happy. So in the 
Christianopolis, '' Their friends recommend to the newly 
married couple. Unity, work, moderation, but primarily 
piety and patience." * In Nova Solyma '' Discords can be 
smoothed out by care and patience." ^ Self-control and 
patience are urged in all matters, as the chief virtue. 
** Nothing is more worthy than to control oneself/' ^ " The 
man who can rule himself is the greatest of all command- 
ers." ^ '' To acquire the position of a ruler among men, one 
must begin by ruling himself — that is the first great requi- 
site." ^ In the Christianopolis, " The glory of con- 
quest over one's passions/' ^ " make effort to control our 

* I, p. 231. ' II, p. 208. 

' I, p. 207. * Nova Solyma, II, p. 130. 

' II, p. 205. ' Nova Solyma, II, p. 125. 

* Chap. Ixxxviii. * Nova Solyma, II, p. 120. 

"Chap, xlviii. 



^8 Christianopolis 

anger," ^ " to be patient in distasteful affairs." ^ The scenes 
around the death-bed are similarly described^ — exhorta- 
tion, prayer and encouragement, and contentment, if the 
departing one is at peace with God. 

Several minor and unrelated points will be but hastily 
mentioned: The library and the armory are adjacent. In 
both cases the visitors are led through (or past) the one, to 
get to the other.* " Mars and Pallas," says Nova Solyma, 
'' should not be too far separated." But in both Chris- 
tianopolis and Nova Solyma " the pest of war " is a neces- 
sary evil. " Nor is it only that one man becomes a pest to 
another, but vast multitudes of men, sworn in under a 
deadly compact, fitted out with all the weapons of destruc- 
tion, . . . are led forth to lay waste a country, to burn its 
cities, and to slaughter its principal people; and the more 
terror they cause, and the greater ravages they commit, so 
much the more do they boast and triumph in such deeds; 
and their names are handed down to posterity loaded with 
honor, this glorious condition being kept up, perhaps to 
cover the vile atrocities of our ancestors from the researches 
of later generations, or to encourage posterity to rise to 
like wicked barbarity." ^ And in the Christianopolis, 
" When other nations are accustomed to pride themselves 
with their cannon and war equipment, these people look 
upon all their heaps of murderous weapons with horror." ^ 

As in keeping with the other customs of home life, the 
families of Nova Solyma, as has already been noticed in 

* Chap. xxix. 
^ Chap, xliii. 

^ Nova Solyma, II, pp. 67, 180; cf. p. 91 of this chapter, and 
Christianopolis, chap. xcix. 

* Christianopolis, chaps, xxxix, xl; Nova Solyma, I, p. 243. 
^ Nova Solyma, II, p. 38. 

« Chap, xl. 



The Christianopolis and Nova Solyma 99 

the case of Christianopolis, take their meals in their pri- 
vate houses and at a family table. 

The description of the gardens and the various hues and 
colors of flowers therein ^ is almost identical, indeed whole 
sections in this connection are very similar. 

It would be possible to carry on the process of likenesses 
to a much further degree, but this would be tedious and 
entirely unnecessary. The general plan of the two works has 
undoubtedly been shown to be one ; the system of education 
and the ethics of life — the important points in the minds of 
both authors — must surely be recognized as the same. (In 
the former especially, Bacon's New Atlantis could not 
have been the pattern for Nova Solyma.) And enough 
parallels have been cited to show direct relation between 
the two. When it is remembered that Gott himself was in 
all probability in the circle of Andreae's best friends and 
warmest admirers — Dury, Hartlib, Comenius, and others — 
and that he was interested in exactly the same sort of a 
reformation of society as was Andreae, and hence would 
eagerly make inquiry of his friends regarding all possible 
writings along the line of his work — the evidence that Gott 
actually knew Andreae's Christianopolis becomes too strong 
to deny. 

* Christianopolis, chap, xciv ; Nova Solyma, I, p. i6a. 



V 



ANDREAE, THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, 
AND EDUCATIONAL REFORM 

In tracing the probable effect of Andreae's teachings 
upon the development of education, and especially the agi- 
tation which resulted in the foundation of societies for 
the investigation of the experimental sciences in England, 
it will be necessary first of all to consider his relations to 
certain prominent contemporary educators in Germany and 
abroad.^ Among these, Johann Amos Comenius will occupy 
an important place. He was born in 1592 in Nivnitz, Hun- 
gary, but received his education for the most part in Ger- 
many. Having completed his preparatory work at the Latin 
school in Herborn, Nassau, he entered the University of 
Heidelberg, and after a brief stay in the Netherlands, 
returned home, taking up a position as instructor in 1614. 

^ G. Waterhouse, in a recent publication (see bibliography), dis- 
cusses the literary relation of England and Germany in the seven- 
teenth century. After asserting the superiority of German literature 
over English in the sixteenth century, and stating that England 
paid back the debt in the eighteenth, he continues (Introduction, 
xii, xiii) that '' German literature of the seventeenth century is 
not worth reading for its own sake " ; that " vernacular literature is 
practically unknown," that " the beginning of the century is for Ger- 
many a period of absolute stagnation." This is speaking somewhat 
extremely, as none of these statements is quite true. That certain 
works of Comenius, for instance, were considered important even 
in England will be shown later in this chapter ; also that he as well 
as Andreae wrote in German and advocated the use of the vernacu- 
lar at the same time that Bacon was having his English works trans- 
lated into Latin so that they might better survive the effects of time. 

100 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform ioi 

He was later (after he attained the required age) ordained 
at Fulnek. During the years of the invasion of the Span- 
ish armies, hundreds of prominent Bohemians were driven 
out of the country; and in 1627 Comenius, accompanied by 
a part of his congregation, withdrew to Poland. He took 
up his abode in Lissa, having added to his ministerial duties, 
that of director of the local " Gymnasium." In 1613 ap- 
peared his first work of importance, Janua Linguarum 
Reserata — which made him famous throughout Europe. 
This deals entirely with a reform for contemporary educa- 
tion. His next publication, the Didactica Magna, shows 
his interest also in the rebuilding of the whole system of 
scientific research and secured for him a call from Sweden 
to superintend a reform of the school system. But he was 
more attracted by an invitation extended by the British 
Parliam.ent to come to England. The invitation had been 
procured through the activity of Samuel Hartlib, who had 
opened a correspondence with Comenius, and had caused 
to be published the latter's Prodromus Pansophiae. In 
1 641, then, Comenius came to London. While political 
conditions in England did not at the time admit of the form- 
ing of any permanent organization according to Comenius's 

Waterhouse states that the influence of English literature on Weck- 
herlin, Morhof, and Schupp was great. This is undoubtedly true 
(Weckherlin hved in England more than thirty years!), but that 
there was also a powerful current in the other direction, through 
the same and other individuals, is not mentioned. Only three lines 
are devoted to Hartlib, whose great activity in many fields cannot 
be overestimated. While Waterhouse records the English transla- 
tions of Jakob Boehme's works he seems to have no knowledge of 
the remarkable and widespread influence which German mysticism 
had upon seventeenth-century England, and the names of men such 
as Sebastian Franck, Kaspar von Schwenckfeld, Valentin Weigel, 
and Andreae are not even mentioned in his book. See Margaret L. 
Bailey : Milton and Jakob Boehme, New York, Oxford University 
Press, 1914. 



I02 Christianopolis 

plans, his visit brought him into association with some of 
the most learned men of the time. Among these are to be 
counted Hartlib himself, John Dury, and perhaps Milton. 
At any rate, the latter's Tractate on Education, published 
in 1644 and dedicated to Hartlib, shows a strong tendency 
toward Comenius's views on this subject. Choosing be- 
tween an invitation to France and a second one to Sweden, 
Comenius took up his abode at Elbing in 1642, which had at 
that time been given over to Sweden. Here he stayed 
most of the following eight years, under the patronage of 
Oxenstierna, the chancellor. These years, besides being 
spent in practical teaching activity, produced the Novis- 
sima Linguarum Methodus which, with his earlier men- 
tioned works, presents his method in education. The fol- 
lowing six years were spent in various parts of Germany 
and Hungary. In 1656 he took up his abode in Amsterdam, 
where his death took place in 1671. These years were spent 
in work upon his Pansophia (which he did not succeed in 
completing) ; and the collection of Opera Didactica was 
published in 1657. 

Comenius's acquaintance with Andreae's productions be- 
gan early. As early as 1628 he wrote Andreae of his interest 
in the latter's work, and expressed the hope that " Andreae 
will not scorn to consider him in the number of his ad- 
mirers, disciples, and pupils." ^ The answer was favorable, 
and was probably accompanied by a copy of the laws of So- 
cietas Christiana. Comenius's next letter requests Andreae, 
" That he should not leave the field of battle before he had 
trained up successors; advanced age should not hinder the 
veteran general from giving the recruits a start. . . ." ^ 
The letters exchanged between the two were neither regular 
nor numerous. Until 1647 there was no further corre- 

^ Mohrke, p. 21. ^ Mohrke, p. 21. 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform 103 

spondence. In that year a long letter from Comenius to 
Andreae acknowledges favorable comment on the part of 
the latter upon Comenius's Pansophia; and refers in turn 
with great praise to Andreae 's Theophilus, which Comenius 
must have seen at least fifteen years earlier. The friendly 
relations between the two were kept up to a great extent by 
Hesenthaler, a young friend of both men ; and ^ a regular 
exchange of their later works took place. The request for 
correspondence, and so forth, was invariably on the side of 
Comenius; and Andreae was always offering excuses for 
his neglect. At Andreae's death in 1657, Comenius showed 
his further respect for him by the use of a motto of An- 
dreae's in the publishing of Didactica Magna. 

Just to what extent Comenius is dependent upon An- 
dreae for his views on education is hard to say. Being 
contemporaries and in direct communication with each 
other's works, their effect was in all probability to a con- 
siderable extent a mutual one. Furthermore, as Mohrke 
very rightly says,^ conditions very often cause like ideas 
to rise simultaneously in the minds of isolated thinkers. 
Especially was this true in this century when the scholars of 
Italy, Germany, England, and France were working under 
a common world-impulse, developing solutions to the same 
great scientific problems. 

If we can believe Comenius's words, he was certainly 
indebted to Andreae for his most fundamental ideas. He 
speaks of Andreae always in the highest terms, and ranks 
him among the first of those from whom he received in- 
centive and inspiration for his own work. This he men- 
tions again and again early in his career, and as late as 1656 
in a letter to Hesenthaler he says incidentally while speak- 
ing of Andreae, '*. . . for from him I obtained almost the 

* Mohrke, pp. 23, 32. ' P. 138. 



I04 Christianopolis 

very elements of my pansophic thoughts,"^ and he begs 
Hesenthaler that he make an effort to secure for him at any 
cost all available works of Andreae, many of vi^hich (includ- 
ing the Christianopolis) he had once not merely read, but 
possessed and had lost in the burning of Lissa by the Poles 
in 1656. Hiillemann ^ and Hossbach ^ accept Comenius's 
statement of the case, as supplemented by an analysis of 
the productions of the two men. Briigel also concludes 
his argument on this point with, " Andreae laid the founda- 
tion upon which Comenius completed the admirable struc- 
ture of his didactic." * On the other hand, there are those 
who deny any debt of Comenius to Andreae, and attribute 
the similarity in their methods and plans merely to the 
general spirit of reform and investigation which conditions 
had brought forth. 

A comparison of the views of the two would certainly 
seem to support the conclusion of Hossbach and the others 
who take stand with him, and would justify Comenius 
himself in the frank statement he makes regarding his 
position with reference to Andreae. Only a few striking 
instances will be cited. The different realms in which edu- 
cation should be carried on are for Comenius, as stated in 
his Didactica, three: sapientia or eruditio, virtus, and 
religio — corresponding to the three so-called divisions of 
the activity of the soul, intellectus, voluntas, conscientia. 
These are also the elementary principles in the Theophilus 
and have already been cited from the Christianopolis.^ The 
principle of happiness and prosperity of the succeeding 
generation provided by a proper care of the youth of to- 
day, is developed by both in exactly the same way — 
pubHc schools for all children, of both sexes, and of 

* Mohrke, p. 34- ^ Pp- 163 f. 

* I, p. I. * Mohrke, p. 14. 

^ Chap, liv, and pp. 93, 94, above. 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform 105 

all ranks in life ; ^ instructors of the highest possible type 
and ability; not merely lecturing, but actual activity and 
effort on the part of the pupils. Languages, ancient and 
modern, are to be taught, as in the Christianopolis the 
former to acquaint the present with ancient civiliza- 
tion, the latter for convenience in intercourse with other 
nations. Mohrke ^ gives Comenius the advantage in his 
insistence upon proficiency in the vernacular. Instances 
will be found, however, where Andreae advocates this just 
as strongly. " Those are credulous people who would at- 
tribute to Latin that it gives greater wisdom than Ger- 
man." ^ " What is not clear in Latin or a foreign modern 
language, must be explained in the vernacular. It is foolish 
to try to learn the former before one is expert in the 
latter." * In the chapter relating to schools,^ the word 
'' vernacula " occurs three or four times. Again, the oft- 
repeated refrain of Comenius and the essence of his method, 
" Everything back to nature, and nothing without nature," 
is according to Mohrke ^ not to be found in Andreae, how- 
ever closely one may search for it. This cannot be con- 
ceded; for such expressions as'' (where the advantage of 
efficiency in rhetoric is the theme), " They look more upon 
nature than upon art/' are to be found throughout his 
works. 

Comenius insists upon exercise for the pupils and cleanli- 
ness in their quarters. He recommends the same outdoor 
sports as does Andreae and in the same manner bars all 
games that require no physical motion, as cards, dice, and 
so forth. He emphasizes the necessity of guarding against 

* Christianopolis, chap. liii. " Chap. Iv, 

* P. 45. •" P. 72. 

' Chap. Ivii. ' Christianopolis, chap. Ivi. 

* Christianopolis, chap. Iv. 



io6 Christianopolis 

disease, and requires '' large, roomy, and pleasant halls and 
apartments for the pupils." Andreae is just as particular in 
these points,^ and by advocating individual attention to 
pupils, lays the basis for the Montessori system of educa- 
tion, so popular to-day. Comenius accepts Andreae's 
views on astronomy, astrology, and mystic numbers 
directly. Their objective instruction and scientific re- 
search coincide, as do also their methods of learning a 
foreign language. Finally and most important of all is 
Andreae's scheme for the organization of a college, that is, 
a body of men, educated, equipped and desirous of improv- 
ing human affairs, " working together " to fulfill a common 
purpose. For it was this point in Andreae's plans which 
first attracted the attention of Comenius and caused him to 
seek a closer acquaintance with the former. 

Leaving Comenius for the moment, we will briefly sur- 
vey the lives and activities of Samuel Hartlib and John 
Dury. The former was born at Elbing, Germany, near the 
close of the sixteenth century. His early years are not well 
known, and most of the information at hand comes from 
some casual remarks of his own. His father was a Polish 
merchant and his mother the daughter of an Englishman. 
Hartlib came to England about 1628 and was himself a 
merchant. It is impossible to over-emphasize the enthusi- 
asm of this very interesting man, as also the power and 
spirit he lent to the movement of better education in Eng- 
land. He felt that the era of democracy was well adapted 
for the improvement of all religious and educational condi- 
tions, and he devoted his life to the faithful performance of 
the mission of realizing such results. His aim was not only 
the cultural progress of England or of Germany; but the 
thought that he had early imbibed from Andreae — that of a 

^Chap. liii. 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform 107 

general reformation of the whole world, was ever present in 
his mind. National and world growth by means of the educa- 
tion of the youth, was his ambitious purpose. The fact that 
parliament appointed him — a foreign-born man — as " agent 
for the advancement of universal learning " shows in what 
esteem he was held by his contemporaries. He introduced 
the writings of Comenius into England. In 1644 Milton 
addressed to him his Tractate on Education. Hartlib 
published pamphlets on educational and industrial matters 
and gave encouragement to all undertakings of this nature. 
In 1646 a pension was conferred upon him in return for 
his valuable works on husbandry; for, his essay on The 
Erection of a College of Husbandry is the first attempt on 
record for the founding of an agricultural school.^ All 
the time he was carrying on an extensive correspondence 
with literary men at home and abroad. The latter part of 
his life he spent at Oxford, and he was intimately associated 
with the group of men who later became a part of the 
Royal Society. His idealistic interests are shown also in 
The Description of the Famous Kingdom of Macaria, a 
Utopia published in 1641. He made numerous translations 
of works into English, especially of the Latin writings of 
Comenius. His death took place about 1670. 

It was in 1633 that Hartlib first heard of Comenius 
through the latter's Janua. He seems to have been natu- 
rally an enthusiast for the subject, and from his first ac- 
quaintance with Comenius's theories was completely cap- 
tivated. Comenius already had conceived the idea of an 
Enzyklopadie der Pansophie, and in 1634, in answer to 
Hartlib's request, sent him a brief of his plan under the 
title, Praeludia. The Pansophie was Comenius's favorite 
work and idea, though his plans for the whole were not 

* Friedrich Althaus, in Historisches Taschenhnch, 1884, p. 244. 



io8 Christianopolis 

quite clear in his own mind and in the nature of the case 
it was a work he could not hope to complete. It was to be ^ 
fundamentally a " universal science " containing a resume 
of all human knowledge, both resting upon a religious basis 
and leading toward a religious enlightenment. As has al- 
ready been seen, he attributes the incentive for the idea to 
Andreae. And no one can read Andreae's works — espe- 
cially the Christianopolis — without discovering in every 
chapter just this same thought, " God and nature are the 
beginning of all man's knowledge; and all scientific re- 
searches have in view the betterment of mankind and the 
glorification as well as the ' defense ' of God " — religion 
being the basis and the ultimate purpose of the whole; 
knowledge and science, the means. In order to enlarge the 
means and insure a more rapid and successful outcome of 
results, he advocates schools, study of the languages, and 
most important of all, the society or college of learned 
men, founded to collect information from all countries, to 
work out conclusions experimentally therefrom, and to 
share the results with the world at large. Comenius's plan 
is a Pansophie and includes the world in its scope. 

These were the ideas which attracted Hartlib to Comenius 
and kept him in correspondence with the latter. Hartlib 
was in close touch with men of learning in several coun- 
tries and with all new scientific developments in England; 
and he saw in Comenius's plan, elements which he felt 
would advance the common cause materially. Hence, he 
made every effort to bring Comenius to England, that the 
latter's mental picture of his work might be personally out- 
lined. 

In the meantime Comenius had been close to other 
enthusiasts in London and in the university towns, chiefly 

* Mohrke, p. 32. 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform 109 

through Hartlib's efforts and activity in the cause. One 
of these, who took the matter up with almost equal energy 
and enthusiasm, was John Dury. He was born at Edin- 
burgh in 1596, in a Presbyterian home. His father, a minis- 
ter, was banished in 1606 and the son was educated at 
Leyden. After completing his university course, he was 
made pastor of an English congregation at Elbing (then 
under the dominion of Gustavus Adolphus). The English 
ambassador to the place, Sir Thomas Roe, took an interest 
in Dury's plans of religious unity between the Presbyterian 
and Lutheran churches, and gave him recommendations to 
Sweden and to men in England. To England Dury went 
in 1630. From this time on for practically the rest of his 
life, he wandered from place to place visiting Germany, 
France, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, trying 
to bring about unity in the church. In 1661 he went to 
Cassel, where he died in 1680.^ It was at Elbing in all 
probability that Dury and Hartlib met, although Hartlib 
left about 1628, very shortly after the former arrived to 
take up his pastorate in the English settlement there. It 
has been suggested ^ that Hartlib's departure for England 
at this time was partly caused by his willingness to pre- 
pare the way for Dury's mission. The latter was pri- 
marily a preacher, interested in bringing about unity in the 
Christian church. He also had very decided views on 
education; and Hartlib here, as in the case of Comenius, 
furnished the inspiration and enthusiasm to make the 
pedagogical theories practical. During the years that fol- 
lowed, Dury wrote (and Hartlib published with a preface) 
a number of religious and educational tracts at the sugges- 
tion of a ** Christian brotherhood whose members wished 
to be of service to one another and to humanity." 

^ M. C. G., VI, p. 65. ' M. C. G., Massons, VI. 



no Christianopolis 

Dury's system of education shows, again, a very notice- 
able similarity to the educative principles of Andreae.^ 
Girls and boys are educated ^ in separate halls — the former 
have governesses, and the latter, tutors (the "masters" of 
Christianopolis). The schools are supervised by an inspec- 
tor. Girls are trained to the duties of mothers and house- 
wives — boys are instructed particularly in agriculture, com- 
merce, and poHtical science; but all study the languages. 
Good methods and excellent instructors save pupils much 
trouble and unnecessary difficulty.^ The chief objects are 
exactly as in Andreae, and even his accepted order — 
i) education to piety, 2) decency in morals, 3) growth in 
sciences — is followed. He inserts also " preserving of 
health." Under the first head we find all the relations for 
daily prayer and worship, as we saw in the Christianopolis, 
though these are elaborated and developed according to 
Dury's own personal views. His training in manners, and 
so forth, is based upon strict morality. The pupils are 
closely watched and corrected in their daily behavior. 
Character building must begin with the early years. As far 
as concerns mental training elsewhere, he complains, pupils 
are taught very poorly, and trained in the least important 
matters. They are given words, rules, and sections to com- 
mit before they understand the meaning.* These blunders 
are eliminated by teaching nothing that the pupil cannot 
grasp and understand. So education becomes experimental, 

^M. C. (7., XVI, pp. 191 ff. 

^ See Christianopolis, especially chaps, xxxviii, xlviii, lii, liii, liv. 

' Recall here the description of the excellent methods in use at 
Christianopolis and the wail of the visitor when he recalls his own 
early grapplings with languages. 

* It will be remembered how often Andreae complains of the 
"dead letters of Aristotle" as compared with the living "genius" 
of the subject. 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform hi 

and is successful in proportion as it promotes knowledge of 
nature and the application of her creatures! 

The work of the pupils is graded. This is very carefully 
done in the Christiano polls, though the whole is less defi- 
nitely outlined. For Dury's third or advanced grade there 
are exact equivalents in the Christiano polls. The subjects 
are even in like groups: medicine, pharmacy, chemistry; 
logic, rhetoric, poetry ; theory of music with mathematics. 
A' comparison of the indices of the two works will show 
surprising likenesses. It will not be necessary to note them 
here. The practical applications of science to daily life re- 
call the many workshops and so forth, in the Christiano polls, 
where the rules and theories are tested and worked out. 
Precautions for health — an open location for the school, 
plenty of air, absolute cleanliness of the rooms, frequent 
baths, physical exercise, regular and informal recreation — 
all have been noted before. 

Such is the system of Dury, the comrade in arms, as it 
were, of Hartlib, and it shows at every turn exact marks 
of coincidence with the Utopia of 1619. That Dury was 
well acquainted with Andreae's works cannot be doubted. 
First of all, he was introduced by Hartlib to Comenius's 
works and became, like Hartlib, an admirer of them. It will 
be remembered that Comenius in his educational productions 
made frank and open use of Andreae. Moreover there is 
evidence ^ of direct correspondence between Andreae and 
Dury on the subject that lay near the hearts of both men — 
education of the youth to insure betterment of society, 
church, and state. 

The intellectual relationships that had been growing up 
for several years between England and Germany were 
strengthened and made more definite in 1636 by two young 
* M. C. G., II, p. 2Z2,, and Vita, pp. 126, 166. 



112 Christianopolis 

men, Peter Figulus and Joachim Hiibner. The former,' an 
orphan, had been adopted into the home of Comenius, and 
now entered the service of Dury, who was at the time 
visiting his friend Matthie in Sweden, and endeavoring 
to get a letter of recommendation from Oxenstierna (chan- 
cellor of Sweden) to the University of Upsala, with a view 
toward introducing his doctrines of unity. The other, Hiib- 
ner, was a friend of Hartlib, through whom the arrange- 
ments had been made at Oxford in 1634 for the publishing 
of Comenius's Praeludia. Hiibner's interest in this work was 
acknowledged by Comenius, when the latter wrote him a few 
years later and sent along a copy of his Didactica. From 
this time on, regular correspondence was carried on, and 
frank mutual criticism was indulged in which fortunately 
did not lead to serious differences. The next edition 
of the Praeludia (1639), now called the Prodromus 
Pansophiae, with Hartlib's preface, gave additional impetus 
to the ever increasing longing for the " society " outlined 
by Dury. It was clear that if the principles of the 
Pansophia were to become of practical value and the 
work completed, a company of organized co-workers 
would be necessary. Hence in 1640 definite plans were 
undertaken to make the theory a reality. Comenius 
was asked to map out the details for a society of scholars 
and finally urgently invited to come to England and 
describe the whole in assembly. This finally resulted 
(after an address to parliament by Bishop Gaudentius, in 
which he speaks of Comenius and Dury as furnishing peace 
on the foundation of " truth ") in the official invitation, 
already mentioned, extended to Comenius and Dury, and in 
their subsequent visit and consultation with parliament. 
These meetings of 1641 and 1642, twenty years before the 
founding of the Royal Society, half a decade before the 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform 113 

Oxford and London gatherings of Robert Boyle and his 
comrades, were undoubtedly the forerunners in England 
of the organization as realized under Charles II. 

In the early correspondence of Hartlib and Hiibner on 
the subject of education and scientific research, a number 
of men are discussed and their views. The chief one men- 
tioned by Hiibner is Andreae, with especial reference to 
his D extra Amoris Porrecta.. In the meantime condi- 
tions in England had arrived at a point where national 
assistance to educational schemes was not to be immediately 
looked for. The king and the parliament were otherwise 
engaged, the factions at war ; and the group of scholars and 
enthusiasts became scattered. Comenius, after some hesita- 
tion, went to Sweden, Hiibner to Paris, to treat in the place 
of Comenius with Cardinal Richelieu. Dury remained in 
England until 1654. 

During the few years immediately succeeding, unavoid- 
able circumstances prevented regularity of meetings and 
attendance. But interest was still kept up and to a consider- 
able extent through the influence of Robert Boyle, the 
chemist and natural philosopher. Boyle was younger than 
the men thus far discussed and was not in England 
at the time of the early meetings of the society in 1641 
and 1642. He was born in 1627, and sent to Eton, where 
his father's intimate friend, Sir Henry Wotton, was provost 
at the time. In 1638 he left England for the Continent, 
staying at Paris, Lyons, and Geneva. Later he spent some 
time in Italy, studying at Florence with Galileo. The latter 
died (1642) while Boyle was at the place. In 1644 he 
returned to England and after some years spent in Ireland, 
where he had been called on private business, he settled in 
Oxford, 1654. Here he met often with Christopher Wren, 
Goddard, and others. A laboratory was fitted up and ex- 



114 Christianopolis 

periments of importance were performed which were writ- 
ten up and pubHshed several years later. While still in 
London in 1645 he had met with those who remained of 
the associates of the preceding years, and these gatherings 
were a little later referred to as the '' Invisible College." 
During these years Boyle corresponded with Newton, John 
Evelyn/ Henry Oldenburg,^ and Hartlib.^ It was not until 
after some time that he could be persuaded to read Bacon or 
Descartes because he wanted to work out his own views 
without prejudice from others. In Ireland, where he spent 

* John Evelyn (1620-1706) was born at Wotton and received most 
of his education from private tutors. He spent much time on the 
Continent and corresponded with Boyle on the subject of founding 
a college. He became very much interested in the Royal Society 
and held the offices of secretary and president. In a letter to Boyle, 
dated September third, 1659 (found in Boyle's Works, edition 1772, 
VI, p. 288), he urges the banding together of "gentlemen who have 
the common interest of preserving science and cultivating them- 
selves," to form a society. His works, like those of Hartlib, deal 
with a great variety of subjects. 

^ Henry Oldenburg, natural philosopher and man of letters, was 
born at Bremen in 1615, the son of a "Gymnasium" tutor. His 
education was received in his native city, and he went to England 
in 1640, where he made the acquaintance of a number of learned 
men in parliament. Returning to Germany, he was for years en- 
gaged in diplomatic service, though in private he devoted his time 
to scientific research. In 1654 he met Milton, having gone back to 
England, and entered into closer relations with the English edu- 
cators than before. He lived at Oxford, was much with Boyle and 
Petty, and was a part of the early movements, described before, 
for the foundation of the Royal Society. He spent the latter part of 
his life in England and was the first secretary of the Royal Society. 

^ In the correspondence of Boyle and Hartlib (Boyle's Works, 
VI, pp. 76-136), covering a period of ten or fifteen years, there are 
numerous references to Haacke, Dury, Petty, and also to German 
experimenters and men of letters. Hartlib mentions receiving let- 
ters urging and furnishing plans for " a real reformation and ad- 
vancement in all manner of literature " from a man of the greatest 
importance " whose name would be known to those traveling on the 
Continent." 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform 115 

years without chemical equipment, he devoted much of his 
time to experiments in anatomy and dissection. The In- 
visible College is mentioned several times in his corre- 
spondence of the years 1646 and 1647. ^^ ^^^ of his let- 
ters he urges a former tutor of his to bring along to 
London " good receipts or choice books on any of these 
subjects (natural philosophy, mechanics, or husbandry) 
which you can procure ; which will make you extremely 
welcome to the Invisible College." Later on " The corner 
stones of the Invisible College, or as they call themselves, 
the Philosophical College, do now and then honor me with 
their company." ^ 

The meetings during these years at London (1645 ^i^d 
following) were entirely informal and not as hopeful of 
ultimate and permanent organization even as those of a few 
years earlier. But they were a desperate attempt to per- 
severe and win in spite of the unfavorable conditions. 

At some of the meetings Dr. John Wallis was present as 
lecturer on mathematics. In his account of one of them 
he tells of the subjects discussed and also of the most promi- 
nent members who attended. Among the latter was Theo- 
dore Haacke, as Wallis says : '' A German of the Palatinate 
and then resident in London, who, I think gave the first 
occasion, and first suggested these meetings." Haacke was 
a Calvmist, bom in 1605 at Neuhausen near Worms. He 
received his earlier education at home, but in 1625 came to 
England and studied at Oxford and Cambridge. For a 
year after visiting continental universities, he returned to 
Oxford in 1629, remaining three years. Having been or- 
dained deacon and having accepted a charge, he was 
appointed to raise money by subscription for benevolences 
in Germany, during the war. In 1648 parliament granted 
^ Boyle's Works, I, pp. 17, 20, 24. 



ii6 Christianopolis 

him sole right in the translation into English of The Dutch 
Annotations on the Bible. He was often employed by the 
government as translator and counsel, and received a pen- 
sion. About 1645 he gave fresh impetus to the " meetings 
of learned men " and in 1663 was elected one of the original 
fellows of the established Royal Society. His work as 
translator was notable, and shortly before his death he had 
ready for print some three thousand German proverbs, 
translated into English. 

In 1648 several of the company in London moved to 
Oxford, among them William Petty.^ Here also was Boyle 
after his return from his Irish estates. A society similar to 
that in London was at once formed. This company be- 
came in 165 1 the Philosophical Society of Oxford and met 
for a generation. Those who remained in London, includ- 
ing John Evelyn, continued to meet regularly until 1658, 
when the meetings were interrupted by the wars, *' For then, 
the place of their meeting was made a quarter for soldiers." ^ 
At the time of the restoration the meetings were resumed 
with renewed zeal and finally the permanent organization 
was formed. Sprat ^ states that " the wonderful pacific 
year 1660 " marked the real beginning of the Royal Society 
and that while the prospective members were arranging 
their platform, " the contrivance of it was much hastened 
by a certain treatise, and that was a proposal by Master 

* William Petty (1623-1687) was born at Romsey in Hampshire. 
From his early childhood he showed a taste for mechanics. He 
studied abroad, in France and Holland chiefly, making medicine his 
specialty at Leyden. Returning to England in 1646, he devoted 
himself to mechanical inventions and scientific studies. This 
brought him into touch with educators, and he moved to Oxford. 
From this time his interests are the same as those of the other 
founders of the Royal Society. 

^ Thomas Sprat, History Royal Society of London, p. 58. 

" Pp. 58, 59. 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform 117 

Cowley ^ of erecting a philosophical college. The intent 
of it was that in some place near London there should 
liberal salaries be bestowed on a competent number of men, 
to whom should be committed the operations of natural 
experiments." Charles II finally permitted his name to be 
enrolled among those of the members, and issued a royal 
charter in 1662. 

The aims and purposes of the Royal Society, as given 
by Sprat in his history, and the directions in which in- 
vestigations were made, cover a narrower field than was 
planned in the programmes of either Andreae, Hartlib, or 
Comenius. For centuries education had been merely a mat- 
ter of scholarship in rhetoric, logic, languages, and subjects 
of like nature; but now the Royal Society, the earlier 
academy of Telesius in Italy, and the later societies 
on the Continent showed a tendency toward narrowness in 
the other direction. With Andreae, and this shows the usual 
breadth and thoroughness of the man, it was a matter of the 
proper balance of all faculties and the development of all 
phases of education. It is just in this respect that his 
Utopia is so much superior, for instance, to that of Bacon. 
His successor, Comenius, and the latter's associates, Dury 
and Hartlib, were true disciples of his in this respect. As 
a matter of fact, after the founding of the Royal Society in 
England, Comenius wrote to a number of its members 
on this very point, warning them against one-sidedness in 
the organization, and recommending attention to reform in 
literary education also. 

For this reason a section in Sprat ^ is interesting, in which 
he digresses from his theme and rather apologetically inserts 
a recommendation for the founding of an academy in lan- 
guage and cultural subjects. After congratulating the Italians 

* Abraham Cowley, the poet. '^ Pp. 39 ff. 



ii8 Christianopolis 

on the number of their academies for the study of " lan- 
guage, style, and so forth," and speaking in the highest terms 
of the French Academy at Paris, " composed of the noblest 
authors of the nation " and boasting of the " Great Cardinal 
Richelieu " as its founder, Sprat continues : " I hope now it 
will not be thought a vain digression, if I step a little aside 
to recommend the forming of such an assembly, to the 
gentlemen of our nation. ... I shall not stick to say that 
such a project is now seasonable to be set on foot, and may 
make a great reformation in the manner of our speaking and 
writing. The thing itself is no way contemptible. For the 
purity of speech, and greatness of empire have in all coun- 
tries still met together. Besides, if we observe the English 
language, we shall find that it seems at this time more than 
others, to require some such aid, to bring it to its last per- 
fection. The truth is, it has been hitherto a little too care- 
lessly handled ; and I think has had less labor spent about 
its polishing than it deserves." 

The suggestion of Covv^ley, as quoted from Sprat,^ was 
" every way practicable ; unless perhaps in two things : he 
did more consult the generosity of his own mind than of 
other men. The one was the largeness of revenue with 
which he would have his college at first endowed; the 
other, that he imposed on his operators a second task of 
great pains, the education of the youth. The last of these 
is indeed a matter of great weight, the reformation of 
which ought to be seriously examined by prudent men. 
For it is an undeniable truth, which is commonly said, that 
there would be need of fewer laws, and less force to govern 
men, if their minds were rightly informed and set straight 
while they were young and pliable." ^ This last state- 
ment of Sprat coincides exactly with several passages 

* P. Ii6 of this chapter. ^ P. 59- 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform 119 

in the Christiano polls as will be remembered, and also 
with the views of Comenius. Sprat is thoroughly in 
sympathy with this feature of a college and regrets that it 
is as yet unfeasible. *' It was not the excellent author's 
fault," he adds, '' that he thought better of the age than it 
deserved." 

The Royal Society ^ is a general body, the membership of 
which is unrestricted by religious belief, nationality, or lan- 
guage. Andreae's views were also broad, and his *' reforma- 
tion " as described in the Fama, the Christiano polls, and 
Theophilus was a general one of the whole world. His 
" fellows " also travel into all countries and gather informa- 
tion everywhere. In the Fama one " fellow " died in Eng- 
land and " his name is well known in that country." ^ In 
the Christiano polls the religious requirement was neces- 
sarily narrower. In the Royal Society the fellows must be 
chiefly "gentlemen, free and unconfined." In the Fama 
exactly the same qualification is demanded. 

Innumerable are the parallels in ideals between Andreae 
and the Royal Society. In many cases it is merely a matter 
of the development of a planted seed. The Christiano polls 
is never elaborate in description, rather suggestive. But in 
the more extended plan of the Royal Society the germs of 
the Christiano polls are often discoverable. Sprat complains 
that heretofore '' the seats of knowledge have been not labo- 
ratories, but only schools, where some have taught, and 
all the rest have subscribed." ^ The Christiano polls lays 
like stress on experimental learning.* Instruments are to 
be made, and even new ones invented, especially those for 
mathematics.^ So also Frater R. C. in the Fama on his 

" Sprat, p. 63. ' P. 68. '' Sprat, p. 246. 

* P. 17. * Chap. Ixxx. 



I20 Christianopolis 

return from the East spends his last years " making and 
inventing new instruments in mathematics." ^ 

The subject-matter to be investigated by the Royal Society 
is included ^ under three heads — God, man, and nature. " As 
for the first, they meddle not otherwise with divine things 
than only as the power and wisdom and goodness of the 
Creator is displayed in the admirable order and workman- 
ship of the creatures." In the Christianopolis it is stated 
that " What goes beyond natural experiment is accepted as 
coming from God." ^ The second head deals with the 
" faculties, the constitution of their bodies, and the works of 
their hands." And the third, investigation of nature — the 
experimental sciences as often mentioned. Here as in the 
Christianopolis the latter are related, " and so there will be a 
mutual communication of the light of one science to an- 
other." * 

In discourse, plain speech is to be preferred to in- 
volved.^ '' In a few words I dare say, that of all the studies 
of men, nothing may be sooner obtained than this vicious 
abundance of phrases, this trick of metaphors, this volu- 
bility of tongue which makes so great a noise in the world. 
But I spend words in vain ; for the evil is now so inveterate, 
that it is hard to know whom to blame or where to begin 
the reform." This scorn of artificial application of rhetoric 
has already been brought out in a preceding chapter of 
this discussion of the Christianopolis. 

The astronomical observations,^ the library,*^ the courses 
of education,^ references to crafts and men working in 
metals, the care and study of bees, the gardens and parks, 
and scores of other details, all have corresponding factors in 

* Fama, p. 12. * Sprat, p. 85. ' Sprat, p. 25 

' Sprat, p. 81. ^ Sprat, p. 112. ^ Sprat, p. 32 

' Chap. Ixiii. * Sprat, p. 241. 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform 121 

the Christiano polls. The rules for the members ^ have close 
similarity with those in the Fama. Fellows pay their ex- 
penses, meet at regular intervals — in secret (except as the 
society votes to admit others to the meetings). Their pro- 
grammes, as they are carried out at the meetings, are alike. 
In speaking of Andreae, the criticism is often made that 
he leaned too strongly toward astrology, alchemy, and the 
supernatural.^ Now in the plan of the Royal Society among 
the investigations to be made and at that time not as yet 
well understood, are mentioned some that, in addition to 
being rather absurd, border on the alchemistic and super- 
natural as well : " What river turns wood into stone," ^ 
" Turning water into earth," * " growth of pebbles in 
water," ^ " Springs that petrify," ^ " gold into silver," ^ 
'' feeding of a carp in air," ^ '' making insects of cheese and 
sack," ^ " As to whether spiders are enchanted by a circle 
of unicorns' horns or Irish earth roundabout them." ^^ It 
might be noted here that Boyle had some faith in trans- 
mutation and alchemy, for he was instrumental in repeal- 
ing the statute against " multiplying gold." ^^ And even 
Bacon was at times, especially early in his career, not quite 
ready to give up all the contentions in favor of the magical. ^^ 

* Sprat, p. 145. 

^ Nothing could be plainer than Andreae's position with respect 
to this question. He takes every occasion to distinguish between 
real and false science, as in chaps, iv, xi, and xliv of the Christian- 
opolis and in the introduction of the Fama (already quoted, p. 39). 
In the introduction to his edition of Die Christenhurg (p. 246), 
Griineisen summarizes Andreae's purpose in this respect as in- 
disputably " to contrast the true secret, the basis and kernel of 
genuine science, and the deep spirit of the wonders in the realm 
of nature . . . with vain secrets and valueless brooding, quibbling, 
and trifling with nature." 

' Sprat, p. 159. " Sprat, p. 191. " Sprat, p. 223. 

* Sprat, p. 191. ^ Sprat, p. 221. *** Sprat, p. 223. 

' Sprat, p. 191. ' Sprat, p. 223. " Diet. Nat. Biog. 

" Works, III, pp. 289, 331. 



122 Christianopolis 

As to the relations existing between the Royal Society 
of London and the Continent, Sprat himself, one of the 
original fellows of the society, acknowledges in his history 
a close connection. Yet it must be confessed that he is 
more inclined to attribute help to the rest of Europe from 
England than to admit the existence of influence in the 
opposite direction ; and he gives Germany credit for a very 
small share of the results attained. " It is evident," he 
says, " that this searching spirit and this affection to sensible 
knowledge, does prevail in most countries round about us. 
Tis true, the conveniences for such labors are not equal 
in all places. Some want the assistance of other's hands; 
some the contribution of other's purses; some the benefit 
of excellent instruments from the patronage of the civil 
magistrates. But yet according to their several powers, they 
are everywhere intent upon such practical studies. And the 
most considerable effects of such attempts throughout Eu- 
rope, have been still recommended to this society by their 
authors to be examined, approved, or corrected." ^ 

Sprat then explains at some length the relations existing 
between the Royal Society of London and similar groups 
of men on the Continent; the following paragraphs are 
quoted therefrom: 

" In France, the Royal Society has maintained a perpetual 
intercourse, with the most eminent men of art of all con- 
ditions; and has obtained from them, all the help which 
might justly be hoped for, from the vigor and activity, 
and readiness of mind, which is natural to that people. . . . 
And, to instance once for all, it has been affectionately in- 
vited to a mutual correspondence by the French Academy of 
Paris." 

" In Italy the Royal Society has an excellent privilege of 
* Sprat, p. 125. 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform 123 

receiving and imparting experiments, by the help of one 
of their own fellows, who has the opportunity of being 
resident there for them, as well as for the king. . . . 
This application to the Royal Society I have mentioned, be- 
cause it comes from that country which is seldom wont 
to have any great regard to the arts of these nations that 
lie on this side of their mountains/' 

Speaking of the Low Countries, he says : 

" And this learned correspondence with him and many 
others is still continued, even at this present time, in the 
breach between our countries; their great founder and 
patron still permitting them to maintain the traffic of sci- 
ences, when all other commerce is intercepted. Whence we 
may guess what may be expected from the peaceful part 
of our king's reign, when his very wars are managed, 
without injury to the arts of civil knowledge." 

" In Germany, and its neighboring kingdoms, the Royal 
Society has met with great veneration as appears by several 
testimonies in their late printed books which have been 
submitted to its censure ; by many curiosities of mechanical 
instruments that have been transmitted to it; and by the 
addresses which have been sent from their philosophical 
inquirers. For which kinds of enterprises the temper of 
the German nation is admirably fit, both in respect of their 
peculiar dexterity in all sorts of manual arts, and also in 
regard of the plain and unaffected sincerity of their man- 
ners; wherein they so much resemble the English, that we 
seem to have derived from them the composition of our 
minds, as well as to have descended from their race." 

In the foregoing pages an attempt has been made to estab- 
lish the following points : Andreae, himself influenced some- 
what by the spirit of research and the idea of an academy of 
science in Italy, developed a system of education and a defi- 



124 Christianopolis 

nite plan for a college. His ideas in both matters were 
accepted and further elaborated by Comenius, who, through 
his friend Hartlib and by a personal visit, introduced them 
into England. In this, Hartlib was assisted by John Dury, 
whose acquaintance with Andreae was not only through 
Comenius, but also by direct correspondence. Peter Figulus 
and Joachim Hiibner were both also means of intercommuni- 
cation — the one between Comenius and Dury, the other 
between Comenius and Andreae on the one hand, and 
between Comenius and England on the other. The 
meetings of these men at London as early as 1641, with 
and also separate from a commission appointed by parlia- 
ment, were responsible for the first agitation toward not 
only a better educational system, but also the founding 
of a college of science. Political conditions interfered with 
further developments. Had this not been the case, the 
Royal Society might well have been founded nearly two 
decades earlier than it was. The members of the group 
scattered and later founded societies in London and Oxford. 
The moving factors of this second attempt, Boyle, Haacke, 
and others, were also acquainted with and inspired by the 
Andreae-Comenius system.^ These meetings were the direct 
forerunners of the Royal Society, which was incorporated 
in 1662. Furthermore, Bacon, to whom is usually accorded 
exclusive credit for giving incentive to the Royal Society 
through his New Atlantis and other works, also bears the 

* It may be of interest to mention here that as a result of An- 
dreae's plans for a college, a society, similar in purpose and scope 
to the later Royal Society of London, was founded as early as 1622, 
under the name Societas Ereunetica, at the University of Rostock, 
by Joachim Jungius, one of the foremost scholars of the time and 
an ardent admirer of Andreae. See G. K Guhrauer, Joachim Jun- 
gius und sein Zeitalter, pp. 69 fif. 



The Royal Society and Educational Reform 125 

stamp of Andreae, and helps to further the latter's views. 
The Nova Solyma shows clear traces of the ideas of An- 
dreae, some of which could not well have come through 
Bacon, — traces in organization, purpose, and results attained. 



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Glockler, Johann Philipp. 

Johann Valentin Andreae, ein Lebenshild. Stuttgart 1886. 
Gruneisen, Carl, 

Die Christenburg von Johann Valentin Andreae. (Zeitschrift 

fUr die historische Theologie. Bd. 6, S. 231.) 
Guhrauer, G. E. 

Der erste deutsche Staatsroman. 
Guhrauer, G. E. 

Joachim Jungius und sein Zeitalter. Stuttgart 1850. 

GUSSMANN, W. 

Reipuhlicae Christianopolitanae Descriptio. (In der ZkWL. 

Jahrg. 1886, S. 326 ff.) 
Herder, Johann Gottfried. 

Vorrede zu Johann Valentin Andreae. Dichtimg zur Beherzi- 

gung unseres Zeitalter s. (In Suphan's edition.) 
HoLDERLiNs Gesammclte Dichtungen. Berthold Litzmann. Stuttgart. 
Hopfner, Ernst. 

Georg Rodolf Weckherlins Oden und Gesdnge. Berlin 1865. 

HOSSBACH, WiLHELM. 

Johann Valentin Andreae und sein Zeitalter. Berlin 1819. 
Hullemann, Carl. 

Valentin Andreae als Pddagog. I Teil, 1884; H Teil, 1893. 
Jones, Stephen K. 

The Authorship of "Nova Solyma." {The Library, July, 1910, 

p. 225.) 
KipPENBERG, August. 

Robinson in Deutschland bis zur Insel Felsenburg. Hannover 1892. 
Kleinwachter, Fr. 

Die Staatsromane. 
Kvacala, Ivan. 

/. A. Comenius. Berlin 1914. 
Lopes, Francisco. 

Istoria de las Indias. (After G. C. Moore Smith's edition of 

the New Atlantis, Introduction, p. 19.) 
Maack, Ferdinand. 

Geheime Wissenschaften. I Band. Berlin 1913. 



128 Christianopolis 

MoHRKE, Max. 

Johann Amos Komenius und Johann Valentin Andreae, ihre 

P'ddagogik und ihr Verhdltnis zu einander. Leipzig 1904. 
MoHL, Robert von. 

Geschichte und Literatur der Staatswissenschaft. 
Monatshefte der Comenius Gesellschaft. 
MoRLEY, Henry. 

Ideal Commonwealths. New York and London 1901. 
Prys, Joseph. 

Der Staatsroman des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts und sein Erzieh- 

ungsideal. Wiirzburg 1913. 
Rawley, William. 

Life of Francis Bacon. (In Spedding's Works, L) 
Realensyklopddie fur protestantische Theologie. 
Record of the Royal Society of London. 1912. 
Schmidt, K. A. 

Geschichte der Ersiehung. 

SiGWART, ChRISTOPH. 

Kleine Schriften. Freiburg und Tubingen 1881. 
Smith, G. C. Moore. 

Francis Bacons "New Atlantis." Cambridge Press 1909. 
Smith, G. C. Moore. 

The Date of the New Atlantis. (In the AthencEum, Feb. 1900.) 
Sprat, Thomas. 

History of the Royal Society of London. 1667. 
Ullrich, Hermann. 

Robinson und Rohinsonaden. Bibliographic, Geschichte, Kritik. 

Teil I. Weimar 1898. 
VoGT, Carl. 

Johann Balthasar Schupp. (Euphorion, 1910, pp. 38-48.) 
VoiGT, Andreas. 

Die Sozialen Utopien. Leipzig. 
Wackwitz, Fr. 

Entstehungsgeschichte von D. Defoes ''Robinson Crusoe." 

BerHn 1909. 
Waterhouse, G. 

The Literary Relations of England and Germany in the 17th 

Century. Cambridge, 1914. 
Wessely, Ignaz Emanuel. 

Thomas Campanellas "Der Sonnenstaat." (Trans, into German.) 
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Lehrbuch der Geschichte der Philosophic. 
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Francis Bacon und seine Quellen. 




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GROUND PLAN OF CHRISTIANOPOLIS 




CHRISTIAXOPOLIS 



CHRISTIANOPOLIS 

By 

JoHANN Valentin Andreae 



Thou Most Noble and Worthy Man, John Arndt, 
Reverend Father in Christ. 

This our new state recognizes and respects thee ; for in- 
asmuch as this colony has its source in that Jerusalem 
which thou didst build with mighty spirit, against the 
wishes of the sophists, it is impossible not to refer all things 
to thee, to give thee thanks for the institutions and laws, 
to beseech thee at the same time not to think it beneath 
thee to communicate out of thy kindness what in thine 
opinion should be added or changed. So may God grant 
to thy most honored old age that thou mayest see as many 
as possible heeding thine interpretation of loyalty, upright- 
ness, and scholarship. Farewell, reverend father in Christ, 
and continue thou to commend me to God as I give heed to 
thee. 

Jan. I, 1619. R.D.T. 

Most faithfully, 

Joh. Valentin Andreae. 



HAIL, CHRISTIAN READER. 

I see two classes of men in the commonwealth. A class 
of those who do not so much approve of those things over 
which they are set or under which they are placed, as they 
admire them and defend them to the teeth. The other 
class, men who endure human affairs, but in such a way, it 
is true, that they do not hesitate to wish for better things 
and to obey moderate changes. But as the latter class never 
readily causes disturbance, because of backwardness and 
sense, but rather as far as possible gives way, is silent and 
tolerant; so also the former, because of blind madness and 
lack of self-control, attack, torment, and not rarely drag 
those into the conflict who merely grumble at them though 
they may not at all desire it. Of this, Antichrist gave us 
the clearest example when he oppressed the church of 
Christ with wicked burdens. And it is surprising that there 
were people who, though perhaps they may not have ap- 
proved of such baseness, at least tolerated it. Be 
that as it may, it was admitted and done so disgustingly that 
when some sought a correction of such terrible disgraces in 
the most temperate way, they were given over to punish- 
ment, proscribed from the protection of law, and torn by 
God knows what curses; until, as men's minds became en- 
raged with the indignity of the thing, an impulse was given 
to restore light and dispel the darkness. What now may 
be the cause of this, since it opposes all reason, is not very 
clear. For whether it be a spirit of ambition, which will 
suffer correction from no one, or whether it be greed, which 
does so flourish among men; whether it be a mental duU- 

133 



134 Christianopolis 

ness which makes no choice or distinction between good and 
evil, or whether people foolishly become accustomed to 
things in a way that lessens all ugliness — all this does not at 
all compare with the great boldness with which we our- 
selves oppose the most evident truth and the most hoped 
for good. And so many believe, and not without reason, 
that this cloud was sent by God upon the minds of the 
wicked, lest they should conform to the modesty of the 
good, which can be done with moderate and tolerable 
means; that, once convicted of their impudent wickedness 
and regarded as unworthy of being yielded to farther, they 
may be compelled to do greater things, and thus, when the 
mask is removed, lose their influence among the people. 

It was thus that our hero Doctor Luther proceeded; 
when men would not heed his prayers and tears, he began to 
breathe threats out of the Word of God. Accomplishing 
nothing by submissiveness, he began to rise up. When he 
had carried on siege for a long time, he began to storm the 
opposing power, and with such success, that WE REJOICE 
though they gnash their teeth. I am rather inclined to 
think that this very drama may be played again in our own 
day. The light of a purer religion has dawned upon us ; in 
accordance with it, the administration of public affairs has 
been regulated, and the brilliancy of letters and arts has 
been restored; we may be able entirely to triumph over 
many conquered enemies — superstition, dissoluteness, and 
rudeness. 

But the secret snares of the Devil give us trouble, as a 
result of which our rejoicing is made less firm, and a mere 
name without the substance is left us. For though all our 
doings should be patterned after our Christ, whose name we 
bear and confess, yet it happens on account of our weak in- 
dulgence that Christians differ in no respect from men of 



Hail, Christian Reader 135 

the world. For whether we look at the churches, the 
courts, or the universities — nowhere is there a lack of un- 
scrupulous ambition, greed, gluttony, license, jealousy, idle- 
ness, and other mastering vices at which Christ violently 
shuddered, but in which we chiefly delight. From this may 
very easily be imagined the joy of the Devil, who when he 
has secretly stolen from us the kernel, gladly allows us to 
glory in the shells and rinds, and it is easy to notice our 
simpleness in that we are content with the bare shadow of 
anything, though we listen like religious, polished, and 
educated men. And yet that impostor does not deceive all, 
and least of all those who have a higher light within. 

Very many of these, men of most fervent spirit, have 
lifted their voices loudly even before us, and will con- 
tinue to do so very zealously in the future also. From 
their number I will mention only Doctor John Gerhard, 
Doctor John Arndt, and Doctor Mart. Moller, as especially 
deserving it of me, most upright theological scholars, al- 
though the last named is a little disturbed on the subject of 
the Lord's Supper. When these men noticed that the whole 
world was resounding with disputations, so that the spirit 
of Christ could hardly be heard through them, they desired 
greatly to procure intermittent silence, which should be 
devoted to piety and should permit a breathing space after 
the heat of disputing, and thus unite scholarship with up- 
rightness in such a way that each might add splendor to the 
other. This was asked for very modestly, and allowed 
with the greatest ill will. Since the bishops of the churches 
would acknowledge the presence of no simony, the political 
leaders no dishonesty, the university no lack of education, 
being warned against devotedness, uprightness, and letters, 
they were accused of treason. If we put faith in those 
who answer the argument, it will appear that the whole 



136 Christianopolis 

church is full of windows, into which anyone may fly 
whenever it pleases him, and where he may whisper to his 
liking; the republic, a market place where vices may be 
bought and sold ; the academy, a labyrinth in which it is a 
game and an art to wander about ; and whatever is squan- 
dered upon these is pure gain. Defenders arose who 
were willing to be betrayed ; good people would have taken 
oath upon their innocence, while now the evil ones detest the 
public testimony of their evil deeds. For the erring world 
would much prefer to have its acts concealed than to have 
them praised in public. 

Those who perform sacrifice in the church have grown 
incensed because the security or rather the nothingness of 
their calling, the carelessness of their sermons, their cul- 
ture, smacking all too much of the world, are not approved. 
And yet the churchmen forbid all this. The greedy ones of 
the world roared because the harshness of their law, the 
license of their morals, the accumulation of their riches, 
their contempt of eternity were not praised. And yet even 
their own civil authority prohibits these. Teachers of let- 
ters babbled on behalf of their lack of knowledge of the 
arts, lack of languages, cheapness of their academic de- 
grees, the insatiable depth of their expenses, and even 
against the direct wishes of scholarship ; and so, as igno- 
rance was willing or rather required it, hypocrisy has under- 
taken and violently usurped the protection of religion, 
tyranny that of civil authority, quibbling that of letters, 
it is true, with many and diverse judgments ; but the cham- 
pions of God, or the servants of a good cause, remained 
unafraid. For though particularly of some they might have 
hoped for and expected greater fairness, learning, and espe- 
cially greater moderation, who were thought to be well 
versed in the affairs of the state, and of great merit; yet 



Hail, Christian Reader 137 

anyone who has once examined the world more closely, 
has clearly noticed that nothing is more intolerable to 
impostors, than truth and uprightness; and they hate these 
so thoroughly that, in the impotency of their wrath and 
forgetful of themselves, they throw off their masks, covers, 
and wrappings, rush forth bare, and thus give way the secret 
of their wickedness. No sensible man can see without re- 
pulsion how basely gluttony in the midst of the church, 
moral looseness in the very public square and in the schools, 
empty titles without stability, and prodigality without limit 
are overlooked — nay, even comrpended and brought before 
the public. This is just the reason why these persons, from 
whom one would least expect it, give way and yield to 
truth more readily, since when once convicted of their own 
mistakes they find nothing left except infamous impudence 
and low banter ; and with these they try in vain to exonerate 
themselves. And so with their innate politeness they hear 
and bear reproofs ; they confess their faults or their mental 
darkness, the inventions of the Devil, the force of habits, 
credulity, and other shackles of the same sort ; and wish that 
they were faultless again. 

A certain fraternity, in my opinion a joke, but accord- 
ing to theologians a serious matter, has brought forth evi- 
dent proof of this very thing. As soon as it promised, 
instead of the taste of the curious public, the greatest and 
most unusual things, even those things which men gen- 
erally want, it added also the exceptional hope of the cor- 
rection of the present corrupted state of affairs, and even 
further, the imitation of the acts of Christ. What a con- 
fusion among men followed the report of this thing, what 
a conflict among the learned, what an unrest and com- 
motion of impostors and swindlers, it is entirely needless to 
say. There is just this one thing which we would like to 



138 Christianopolis 

add, that there were some who in this blind terror wished 
to have their old, out-of-date, and falsified affairs entirely 
retained and defended with force. Some hastened to sur- 
render the strength of their opinions ; and, after they had 
made accusation against the severest yoke of their servitude, 
hastened to reach out after freedom. And then, to get 
closer to the matter in hand, there were some who made 
accusation against the principles of Christian life as heresy 
and fanaticism. Others even embraced this with a whole 
heart. While these people quarreled among themselves, 
and crowded the shops, they gave many others leisure to 
look into and judge these questions. Of this now we have 
this benefit, that, as it seems to us, the world is not so sure 
of its affairs as it would like to seem, nor is it so steadfast 
in its views that it cannot be turned aside; nor yet (and 
this is the chief point) are all so far from Christ that no 
one would be willing to admit His rules of life and then 
regulate his own life according to them, if the opportunity 
were given. Moreover I am prone to praise the judgment 
of a man of the most noble qualities in piety, ethics, and 
nature who, when he saw that men were undecided and 
for the most part deceived by the report of that brother- 
hood, answered, " If these reforms seem proper, why do 
we not try them ourselves? Let us not wait for them 
to do it.", — meaning that there was nothing to hinder us 
from learning these things from the Gospels and making the 
attempt from the praiseworthy examples of devoted Chris- 
tians, if we really wished to imitate the life of Christ and 
improve our daily lives. For we certainly would not com- 
mit such an injury against Christ and His Word, as to prefer 
to learn the way of salvation and emulate it, from some 
society (if there really is such a one) — hazy, omniscient 
only in the eyes of its own boastfulness, with a sewn shield 



Hail, Christian Reader 139 

for an emblem and marred with many foolish ceremonies, 
than from Him who is Himself the Way, the Truth, and the 
Life, whose precepts are so in evidence and so easily 
located that we have to make use of the greatest subter- 
fuges and evasions to avoid them. For if our conscience 
urges us that we have ground for complaint against the too 
great security of religion, the impurity of life, and the 
mockeries of learning, what shall hinder us from driving out 
of ourselves at least (if others do not desire it) the vices of 
life, from planting virtues instead, and from joining closer 
to our Christ whom we fear is farthest removed from our 
affairs ? 

It is quite certain that nothing gives this permission to us 
or to Christ except the fear of the judgments of men, which 
attempts to preserve us from our own friends and the usual 
customs of life, and to keep for us the good will of men ; yet 
which none the less a little later hurls us through the dif- 
ficulties of this age, to groan and grieve when it is too late, 
naturally, because we have given faith to the world and 
denied it to Christ. And this is to be considered the best 
determination, which, when the Word of God has been 
heard and accepted, does not look to men or to any society 
or assembly for approval, but stands at the command of 
God and of the human conscience, walks zealously under 
the direction of the Holy Spirit, and bears unjust criticism 
no more unwillingly than the croaking of frogs ; since alto- 
gether it is evident that only a very few people dare to 
attack piety, uprightness, and character in the open, but by 
circumlocutions rather trifle, lie, or try to devise something 
at which after a while they can bark. And so you will hear 
first of all the words *' fanatic," " turbulent," and " a dan- 
ger to literature " ; then you will be accused and will have 
to look at the wounds of a chimsera and the conflicts of 



140 Christianopolis 

blind gladiators. But if you quietly put your faith in a 
clear conscience, you will yet take the greatest joy with you. 
Now, my excellent reader, you see as an evident example 
of this Christian security, this new Republic which it seems 
best to call Christianopolis. For inasmuch as other 
people (and I myself also) do not like to be corrected, I 
have built this city for myself where I may exercise the 
dictatorship. And if you should call my own insignificant 
body by this name, perhaps you would not be so far from 
the truth. But even as the laws almost everywhere are 
good and yet the morals of the people loose, so I fear you 
will suspect that the case is the same with the citizens of 
my state. However that may be, I have determined not to 
praise my citizens, but to describe them; and to reveal and 
communicate to you according to what statutes we are 
commanded to live. I could not speak to you about dif- 
ferent things more frankly or freely, I could not give you the 
facts with less restriction, nor draw forth your opinion more 
unreservedly than in this manner. Whether you approve 
or disapprove of this matter I shall praise you, provided 
you give answer with like candor. But if you answer me 
with some sophism, nothing will be easier for me than to 
bear your unfavorable criticisms and ignore you. If you 
find our state at all attractive, nothing shall be denied you ; 
if you decline it, nothing shall be thrust upon you. My citi- 
zens do neither waste their own substance nor do they covet 
yours. Furthermore they are willing to accept whatever 
you care to give them, and they are glad to give you what- 
ever you desire. Our laws compel or constrain no one ; they 
do persuade — standing forth with the Word of God and not 
giving way to Satan. Moreover, they admit every good 
man as an adviser. The structure has no art, but abundant 
simplicity. 



Hail, Christian Reader 141 

We have not told everything. Perhaps we have said 
more than the wicked can stand — less than we offer to the 
good, however often they may wish it mentioned. 

Finally let me say, it is a public show, a thing which 
has not been said to the disadvantage of the famous Thomas 
More. As far as concerns my own work, it ought to be more 
easily laid aside as not being as serious or as clever as his. I 
have written to my friends, since one can joke with them; 
I should not dare to write to eminent men, even if I wished 
to do so ; I should not be able to if I dared ; and I should not 
want to if they permitted it. So great is my respect for 
them, such the knowledge and confession of my inexperi- 
ence. At any rate, those may read who wish to, and let 
them remember that among friends many imperfections are 
overlooked which would not stand the critical test of evil 
wishers. If anyone doubts the truth of my story, let him 
put off passing judgment until all reports of wanderings and 
sea travels have been made. But the safest way will be 
(provided Heaven permits, the land does not interfere, and 
the sea is calm, with Christ the guide of your voyage, 
and your comrades all desirous of a just life), for you 
to embark upon your vessel which has the sign of the Cancer 
for its distinctive mark, sail for Christianopolis yourself 
with favorable conditions, and there investigate everything 
very accurately in the fear of God. So farewell, my Chris- 
tian reader, and gird you on the road to heaven. 



CONCERNING THE STATE OF 
CHRISTIANOPOLIS. 



THE REASON FOR THE JOURNEY, AND THE SHIPWRECK. 

While wandering as a stranger on the earth, suffering 
much in patience from tyranny, sophistry, and hypocrisy, 
seeking a man, and not finding what I so anxiously sought, 
I decided to launch out once more upon the Academic Sea 
though the latter had very often been hurtful to me. And 
so ascending the good ship. Phantasy, I left the port to- 
gether with many others and exposed my life and person 
to the thousand dangers that go with desire for knowledge. 
For a short space of time conditions favored our voyage; 
then adverse storms of envy and calumny stirred up the 
Ethiopian Sea ^ against us and removed all hope of calm 
weather. The efforts of the skipper and the oarsmen were 
exerted to the limit, our own stubborn love of life would 
not give up, and even the vessel resisted the rocks; but 
the force of the sea always proved stronger. Finally when 
all hope was lost and we, rather of necessity than on ac- 
count of bravery of soul, had prepared to die, the ship col- 
lapsed and we sank. Some were swallowed up by the 
sea, some were scattered to great distances, while some 
who could swim or who found planks to float upon, were 
carried to different islands scattered throughout this sea. 

^ Mare Aethiopicum. Probably intended to imply " Sea of 
Stupidity." 

142 



TITLE PAGE OF THE ORIGINAL EDITION 
OF THE " CHRISTIANOPOLIS " 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 143 

Very few escaped death, and I alone, without a single com- 
rade, was at length driven to a very minute islet, a mere 
piece of turf, as it seemed. 



II. 



DRIVEN TO THE ISLAND, CAPHAR SALAMA. 

Everything here pleased me, except I did not please 
myself. The island, moreover, small though it had ap- 
peared, had a great abundance of all things, and there was 
not a foot of soil to be seen which was not under cultiva- 
tion or in some way put to use for mankind. The site of the 
island, such as I found it to be a little later, I will not re- 
fuse to explain. It is in the Antarctic zone, 10° of the south 
pole, 20° of the equinoctial circle, and about 12° under the 
point of the bull.^ To trifling minutiae I will never answer.- 
The form is that of a triangle, whose perimeter is about 30 
miles. This island is rich in grain and pasture fields, 
watered with rivers and brooks, adorned with woods and 
vineyards, full of animals, just as if it were a whole world 
in miniature. One might think that here the heavens and 
the earth had been married and were living together in 
everlasting peace. 

While I was drying my undershirt, the only garment I 
had saved, in the rays of the morning sun, an inhabitant 
of the island, some one of the many watchmen of the 
place, came upon me suddenly. He inquired into my mis- 
chance with all kindness, and while sympathizing with 
my misfortune, bade me trust him and accompany 

* Andreae seems purposely to locate his Utopia in an impossible 
place. 



144 Christianopolis 

him to the city, where, with their usual consideration 
toward strangers and exiles, the citizens would supply my 
needs ; and he added : " Happy are you whose lot it has 
been, after so severe a shipwreck, to be thrown on land 
at this place." And I answered only, " Thank God ! Glory 
to God!" 

III. 

THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANOPOLIS. 

Meantime the sight and the beauty of the city as we 
approached it surprised me greatly, for all the rest of the 
world does not hold anything like it or to be compared with 
it. So turning to my guide I said : " What happiness has 
established her abode here? " And he answered : " The one 
that in this world is generally very unhappy. For when the 
world raged against the good and drove them out of her 
boundaries, religion, an exile, gathering about her the com- 
rades whom she regarded the most faithful, after crossing 
the sea and examining various places, finally chose this land 
in which to establish her followers. Later she built a city 
which we call Christianopolis, and desired that it should 
be the home, or, if you prefer, the stronghold of honesty 
and excellence. The generosity of this our republic to all 
in want, you are about to experience. So if you desire to 
traverse the city (but you must do it with dispassionate 
eyes, guarded tongue, and decent behavior) the opportunity 
will not be denied you ; nay, the city lies open to you in its 
individual parts." Then I answered : " Oh, blessed hour 
when after so many monstrous sights seen with dread and 
exertion, I shall be granted the privilege of observing some- 
thing really elegant and beautiful. I shall evade neither the 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 145 

bath, the razor, nor the brush, that, being washed, scraped, 
and cleansed, I may be admitted to the pure abodes of truth 
and goodness. For how unfortunate my mistakes and 
evasions have been, has become known to many, a long time 
ago. Oh, may I some time see better, truer, more fixed, and 
more stable conditions — in brief, those which the world 
promises, but never and nowhere produces ! '* 



IV. 



EXAMINATION OF THE STRANGER^ FIRST, AS TO HIS IDEAS OF 
LIFE AND HIS MORALS. 

Now we had approached the eastern gate, when my com- 
panion introduced me to the prefect of the day's guard. He 
received me pleasantly and asked me what I desired. 
'* Very many things," said I, " for as you see I have been 
cast up from land and sea. But now since I seem to have 
met God Himself here, why should I not seek largely of 
that which I have lacked all my life ? " The prefect of the 
guard smiled and kindly advised me, inasmuch as this 
island had nothing indecorous, not to prove to be one of 
those whom the citizens of the community would not tolerate 
among them but would send back to the place from which 
they had come, such persons as: beggars, quacks, stage- 
players who have too much leisure, busybodies who worry 
unnecessarily in the details of unusual affairs, fanatics who 
however have no real feeling of piety, drug-mixers who 
ruin the science of chemistry, impostors who falsely call 
themselves the Brothers of the Rosicrucians, and other 
like blemishes of literature and true culture, whom this city 
has never ceased to suspect. Then when I had purged my- 



146 Christianopolis 

self by a testimony of my inmost conscience, and had with 
many words vowed the service of my whole powers to 
truth and to integrity, he said : " There is no reason now 
why you should not have the benefit of our goods, and what 
is much more important, of ourselves.'* So saying, he 
grasped me by the hand, took me into the home of some 
watchmen or guards near by, and refreshed me with very 
savory food and drink. 



EXAMINATION, SECONDLY, AS TO HIS PERSON. 

Now when I had put on different clothing, not at all 
extravagant, but easily procured and comfortable, he gave 
me over to some attendants who took me to my second 
examiner. This man appeared as one born for the purpose 
of drawing forth from a man his innermost and most private 
thoughts. He returned my greetings very kindly and put 
several friendly questions to m.e, meanwhile watching my 
bearing and the lineaments of my face very critically. 
With a smile rather than with serious expression he in- 
quired as to my native land, my age, my manner of life, 
all, as it were, incidentally. After a few courtesies had been 
exchanged, he said : " My friend, you have undoubtedly 
come here under the leadership of God that you might 
learn whether it is always necessary to do evil and to live 
according to the custom of barbarians. That this is not 
the case we will give you proof this very day as we ought 
to all persons. And all the more gladly will we do this 
since neither nature nor your fortune seem indisposed, but 
rather you possess a heart favorable to the influences of 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 147 

both. And if God indeed rule you, so that you be free from 
the attractions of the flesh, then we do not doubt that you 
are already ours, and that you will be forever." While 
thus speaking (as I seemed to notice) he was studying the 
calmness of my being, the modesty of my countenance, the 
closeness of my speech, the quiet of my eyes, my personal 
bearing, with such thoroughness that it seemed to me he 
could scrutinize my very thoughts, with such affability that 
I could conceal nothing from him, with such respect that 
I felt I owed everything to him. And so, when my mind 
had been laid bare all around and he had at length touched 
somewhat on the subject of letters, he said: "My friend, 
you will grant me your indulgence when I discourse in 
so unscholarly a way as I have done. Be not discouraged, 
for in this community of ours you will find no lack of men 
who are fairly steeped in learning and culture." At the 
same time he issued a command to an attendant that he 
should accompany me to a third examiner. And so he 
shook my hand and bade me farewell, urging me to have 
confidence. But I thought to myself: "Heaven help me! 
If they call this ' discoursing in an unscholarly way,' what 
shall become of me ? " 



VI. 

examination, thirdly, as to his personal culture. 

Now when I came to him, I found no less kindness than 
in the former case ; for let me say once for all, all haughti- 
ness and pride are banished from this place. But when I 
heard this man speak, I felt more ashamed than ever before. 
I had to " know nothing " with Socrates, but in an entirely 



148 Christianopolis 

different sense. How I regretted having spoken of litera- 
ture! He asked me, in most pleasant terms it is true, to 
what extent I had learned to control myself and to be of 
service to my brother; to fight off the world, to be in har- 
mony with death, to follow the Spirit; what progress I 
had made in the observation of the heavens and the earth, 
in the close examination of nature, in instruments of the 
arts, in the history and origin of languages, the harmony 
of all the world; what relation I bore toward the society 
of the church, toward a compendium of the Scriptures, the 
kingdom of heaven, the school of the Spirit, the brother- 
hood of Christ, the household of God. I was amazed when 
I understood that so very little had been made a part of 
myself, of the many things which are so freely and in such 
generous amounts given to man. And so, doing all that I 
could under the circumstances, I turned to frank confes- 
sional and said : " Most honored sir, all these things I am 
entirely unacquainted with and I have never had instruc- 
tion in them. But of this much I assure you on my word, 
that within me I have very often wrestled with them, desired 
to know them, and have dared to attack them." Whereupon 
he almost shouted out aloud. " You are ours," he said, 
"you who bring to us an unsullied slate, washed clean, as 
it were, by the sea itself. It but remains that we pray God 
that He inscribe upon your heart with His holy stylus the 
things which will seem, in His wisdom and goodness, salu- 
tary to you. And now truly you shall see our city in its 
individual parts. And after you have returned we will 
listen to whatever you may further desire of us, in so far 
as we are mentally prepared and provided." And he gave 
me three men, Beeram, Eram, and Neariam, worthy indi- 
viduals as was evident from their countenances; and they 
were to show me around everywhere. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 149 

VII. 

description of the city. 

If I describe to you the appearance of the city first of all, 
I will not be making a mistake. Its shape is a square, 
whose side is seven hundred feet, well fortified with four 
towers and a wall. It looks, therefore, toward the four 
quarters of the earth. Eight other very strong fowers, dis- 
tributed throughout the city, intensify the strength; and 
there are sixteen other smaller ones that are not to be 
despised ; and the citadel in the midst of the city is well- 
nigh impregnable. Of buildings there are two rows, or 
if you count the seat of government and the storehouses, 
four; there is only one public street, and only one market- 
place, but this one is of a very high order. If you measure 
the buildings, you will find that from the innermost street, 
being twenty feet in width, the numbers increase by fives 
even up to one hundred. At this point there is a circular 
temple, a hundred feet in diameter. As you go forth from 
the buildings, the intervals, storehouses, and the rows of 
houses are each twenty feet wide and the wall is twenty- 
five feet. All buildings are in three stories, and public 
balconies lead to these. All this can, however, be better 
understood from the accompanying plate.^ All buildings 
are made of burnt stone and are separated by fireproof walls 
so that a fire could not do very severe damage. Spring 
water and flowing water are here in great abundance, sup- 
plied partly by artificial means, and partly by nature. 
Things look much the same all around, not extravagant nor 

* For this and futur^ references to the plan of the city, see 
diagram following p. 128. 



150 Christianopolis 

yet unclean ; fresh air and ventilation are provided through- 
out. About four hundred citizens live here in religious 
faith and peace of the highest order. We shall have some- 
thing to say about each individual one. Outside the walls 
is a moat stocked with fish, that even in times of peace it 
may have its uses. The open and otherwise unused spaces 
contain wild animals, kept, however, not for purposes of 
entertainment but for practical use. The whole city is di- 
vided into three parts, one to supply food, one for drill and 
exercise, and one for looks. The remainder of the island 
serves purposes of agriculture and for workshops. These 
I have noted down in some way or another in the plan. 
And next we must take a trip through the city. 



VIII. 

AGRICULTURE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY. 

In the farthermost section of the corporation which 
faces east is the farm quarter. It is divided into two parts, 
the agriculture proper on the one side, and the animal hus- 
bandry department on the other. For all the grain, vege- 
tables, and greens which the state can get from the island, 
and all the pack-animals, beef-cattle, and flocks of which 
they have need, are kept in fourteen buildings, so con- 
structed that they will shelter the guards and care-takers 
also. For, since the buildings rise in three stories, as I 
have shown, they hold more than one would suppose. 
Whatever waste materials accumulate, are taken through 
the gateways in the corner towers and carried to the edge 
of the walls, until the time arrives for distributing them 
over the fields and meadows. Directly opposite these build- 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 151 

ings is a rather large tower, thirty by forty-five feet, which 
connects the farm buildings with the city buildings ; it also 
incloses a space of land, so that under the tower a rather 
broad vaulted entrance into the city is open, and smaller 
doors lead to the individual houses. This tower can be so 
fortified on both sides at the gates that there can be no 
passing back and forth through the walls to the town when 
once the gates are closed. A hall with windows all around, 
is built under the dome of this tower. Here the citizens 
of that side of the town may come together, as often as the 
ordinances require, and act on sacred as well as on civil 
matters. Uriel, a man very expert in agriculture, soil fer- 
tility, and breeding and care of animals, lives above in 
this tower. Kapzeel and Simea, subordinate to Uriel, are 
the prefects of the towers, and they assist him in his work 
whenever it is possible. Here there is no rusticity, but the 
agriculture of the patriarchs is reproduced, the results 
being the more satisfactory, the closer the work is to God 
and the more attentive to natural simplicity. 



IX. 

MILLS AND BAKERIES. 

Seven mills and as many bake shops adjoin these two 
public storehouses which face south; while seven meat 
shops and as many provision chambers are on the side that 
faces north. Larger towers divide the two sides as in 
the former case ; and likewise, towers very much like those 
smaller ones, inclose them. The mills do not only grind 
the grain and have it stored on the upper floors, but what- 



152 Christianopolis 

ever is to be done with machinery apart from fire, is done 
here; and as this is a place for originality to work its way, 
there is a great variety of such for devising pleasure and 
wonder on the part of the spectator. Here paper is made, 
trees are sawed into beams, and arms and tools are polished. 
All the bread which is necessary to supply the island is 
baked in these bake shops, and all flour is kept here. Be- 
tween these are tanks for oil, and underneath, cellars are dug 
out for receiving wine. And the men in charge of the storing 
and packing away, are expert tasters. Neria, who lives in 
the middle tower, has charge of these^ and Simea and Gadiel, 
prefects of the small towers, assist. The arrangement is 
that each prefect is responsible to two of the four men. 
You will be surprised how a supply of provisions, not at all 
very great, can be made to suffice for temperate habits in 
everything. For though no one in the whole island ever 
goes hungry, yet by the grace of God or the generosity of 
nature, there is always abundance, since gluttony and 
drunkenness are entirely unknown. Of the distribution of 
food I will speak later; let me add just one thing now, that 
everything is done neatly and with proper appreciation of 
the gifts of God. Men that have to do the heavy work do 
not become wild and rough, but remain kindly; the guards 
are not gluttons, but are temperate, not evil-smelling but 
cleanly washed. And to conclude, the government is ad- 
ministered in a way so advantageous in all respects, that the' 
people can enjoy all these privileges with a pleasure that is 
decent and need not be concealed. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 153 
X. 

THE MEAT SHOP AND THE SUPPLY HOUSE. 

A DISTRICT on the north is devoted to the slaughter houses 
and to fourteen other buildings which have to do with the 
same. This part has no suggestion of the bestial about it. 
And yet in other places I have seen men become coarse from 
the daily custom of shedding blood, or the handling of meats, 
fat, hides, and the like. Here also there are kitchens in- 
tended for the roasting, boiling, and cleansing of animals; 
but which know no delicacies or dainties. And inasmuch 
as they praise neatness and sanitation, there are wash houses 
for washing the clothes and linen. 

The provision chamber is divided into several rooms; it 
has butter, lard, suet, grease, tallow, and other supplies of 
this kind; but also fish, dried and fresh, and all kinds of 
fowl, not only for the inhabitants but also for strangers 
and traveling merchants. For there is the greatest oppor- 
tunity for commerce in this island, though the inhabitants 
of the place, individually, have nothing to do with it. Such 
matters are left to those selected to attend to them. And 
here the real value of exchange appears, which looks not 
so much at the gain, as at the variety of things ; so that we 
may see the peculiar production of each land, and so com- 
municate with each other that we may seem to have the 
advantages of the universe in one place, as it were. From 
this, the recognition of this little point, our earth, and also 
the generosity of God, the Giver of all, becomes manifest; 
and finally, that which is the gift of all men, is rendered 
that of every individual. I will not say more along this 
line now, for in the first place there is need of too much 



154 Christianopolis 

else, and then the subject will recur often in the rehearsal 
of other parts. Thirhena and his comrades, Kapzeel and 
Zarphat, have charge of this part of the work, and they 
regulate the daily life and the work of the subordinates. 



XI. 

METALS AND MINERALS. 

There remains the section on the west which is given 
over to the forge. For here on the one side are seven work- 
shops fitted out for heating, hammering, melting, and mold- 
ing metals; while on the other side are seven others as- 
signed to the buildings of those workmen who make salt, 
glass, brick, earthenware, and to all industries which require 
constant fire. Here in truth you see a testing of nature 
herself; everything that the earth contains in her bowels 
is subjected to the laws and instruments of science. The 
men are not driven to a work with which they are unfa- 
miliar, like pack-animals to their task, but they have been 
trained long before in an accurate knowledge of scientific 
matters, and find their delight in the inner parts of nature. 
If a person does not here listen to the reason and look into 
the most minute elements of the macrocosm, they think that 
nothing has been proved. Unless you analyze matter by ex- 
periment, unless you improve the deficiencies of knowledge 
by more capable instruments, you are worthless. Take my 
word for it, if sophistry should undertake to prattle here, it 
would be a mockery — to such an extent do they prefer deeds 
to words. Here one may welcome and listen to true and genu.- 
ine chemistry, free and active ; whereas in other places false 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 155 

chemistry steals upon and imposes on one behind one's back. 
For true chemistry is accustomed to examine the work, to 
assist with all sorts of tests, and to make use of experiments. 
Or, to be brief, here is practical science. Sesbazar with his 
two assistants, Zarphat and Gadiel, have charge and seem to 
require not so much the labor itself as a fit exercise for the 
human body. For while among us one is worn out by the 
fatigue of an effort, with them the powers are reinforced 
by a perfect balance of work and leisure so that they 
never approach a piece of work without alacrity. More- 
over, as I looked on the work, this self-reproach kept com- 
ing into my mind, that, urged by so long a time, employed 
at so much expense, assisted by books, I had learned noth- 
ing of all these things, which it is altogether fitting one 
should know, and that by my inexcusable folly I had neg- 
lected the countenance of nature, which is after all the most 
attractive. 



XII. 

DWELLINGS. 

When then I had examined the inclosure containing 
the shops and the storehouses, I entered through the east 
tower and saw the city proper, square and with two rows 
of buildings facing each other. The street which separates 
these rows of houses is twenty feet wide, and is of sufficient 
width, when you stop to consider that horses and wagons 
are not used upon it. The buildings on the outer side are 
fifteen, those on the inner side twenty-five feet wide; they 
are thirty-three feet high and most of them forty feet long on 
the side facing the street. The walks are arched and sup- 



156 Christianopolis 

ported by columns five feet wide and twelve high, that rainy- 
weather may do no damage. Where the walls face each 
other, a walk is formed by the balconies on the second and 
third stories, all of which it has been deemed wise to repre- 
sent in the diagrams. The larger side of the city, if you stop 
to count the towers, has thirteen buildings, the smaller side, 
eleven, making eighty-eight in all ; ^ and, if this is multiplied 
by three, they constitute two hundred and sixty-four homes. 
The distribution of these is shown on the sketch. No one 
need be surprised at the rather cramped quarters ; for there 
being only a very few persons, there is also need for only a 
very little furniture. Other people who house vanity, ex- 
travagance, and a family of that sort, and who heap up 
baggage of iniquity, can never live spaciously enough. They 
burden others and are burdened themselves, and no one 
measures their necessities, nay even their comforts, easily 
otherwise than by an unbearable and unmovable mass. Oh, 
only those persons are rich who have all of which they 
have real need, who admit nothing else, merely because it is 
possible to have it in abundance ! For as often as I have seen 
wealth on this earth I have also always noticed dissatisfac- 
tion standing by ; but in only the one condition, which we call 
" lack," has contentment appeared. 



XIIL 



MECHANICS. 

In walking around the city, I could easily notice what 
the distribution of the craftsmen was. For even as the 
^Probably a typographical error in the original. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 157 

city is four-cornered, so also its inhabitants deal with four 
materials : metals, stones, woods, and the things that are 
needed for weaving ; but with this difference, that the occu- 
pations which require more skill and innate ability are as- 
signed to the inner square, while those which admit of more 
ease in working, to the outer or greater square. And 
they, furthermore, regard clock-makers and organ-makers, 
cabinet-makers, sculptors, and masons on the same basis. 
This feature, moreover, is entirely peculiar to them, namely, 
that their artisans are almost entirely educated men. For 
that which other people think is the proper characteristic 
of a few (and yet, if you consider the stuffing of inexperi- 
ence as learning, the characteristic of too many men al- 
ready) this the inhabitants argue should be attained by 
all individuals. They say neither the subtleness of letters 
is such, nor yet the difficulty of work, that one man, if given 
enough, cannot master both. And yet there are some who 
incline more to this or to that occupation, who, if they pre- 
fer to make a craft a specialty, are made masters over their 
fellows, that they may in turn train up others and still others. 
I saw what mechanics I thought were workers in brass, tin, 
iron; knife-makers, turners, makers of jewel cases, of 
statuary, workers in gypsum, fullers, weavers, furriers, cob- 
blers ; and among the nobler crafts, sculptors, clock-makers, 
goldsmiths, organ-makers, engravers, goldleaf-beaters, 
ring-makers, and innumerable other like trades not to be 
despised. Tanners, harness-makers, blacksmiths, wagon- 
makers, trunk-makers, stonecutters, glass-makers, all these 
you will find here. Now that we have named those that 
follow the trades it might be said that patching, sewing, and 
embroidery are all done by the women. All these things are 
done not always because necessity demands, but for the 
purpose of a competition among the mechanics, in order 



158 Christianopolis 

that the human soul may have some means by which it and 
the highest prerogative of the mind may unfold themselves 
through different sorts of machinery, or by which, rather, 
the little spark of divinity remaining in us, may shine 
brightly in any material offered. . Of the overseeing and 
incentives, as also of the hours of leisure and of work, we 
will speak later. 



XIV. 

PUBLIC PRAYERS. 

Before I proceed, something should be said regarding 
their public worship. Three prayers are offered each day, 
morning, noon, and in the evening, when thanks are given 
to God for blessings received; and on bended knee and 
with folded hands, a continuation of His aid and a worthy 
death are implored in a solemn formula. No one may be 
absent from these prayers, except for the most urgent rea- 
son; parents bring all their children hither that they may 
learn even in infants' prattle to praise God. Then a reading 
from the Holy Scriptures is listened to, and the meeting, of 
about half an hour, is dismissed with a hymn. If the day 
be a special day, on which some remarkable instance of 
God's grace is to be commemorated, somewhat more time 
is expended in the devotions. These meetings are held in 
the larger halls of the towers, and each one has his assigned 
place. And nothing is more worthy of Christians than this 
observance. For though we owe secret prayers to God, our 
best ones, and very frequent, yet this communion of spirits 
and prayers has a distinctly pleasant sound in the ears of 
God, and an especial efficacy. Those who neglect this are 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 159 

perhaps a little bit too sure of their salvation, while those 
who are expecting at some time a communion of saints, 
even as they plan all things in this world with a view 
toward the heavenly fatherland, so they are occupied in 
divine praise more diligently and more eagerly than in any 
other thing. On this account, happy and very wise are 
those who anticipate here on earth the firstlings of a life 
which they hope will be everlasting ; and most unfortunately 
foolish are those who close their life with this most grievous 
mortality. 



XV. 

FOOD. 



Their meals are private to all, but the food is obtained 
from the public storehouse. And because it is almost im- 
possible to avoid unpleasantness and confusion when the 
number of those partaking of a meal is so great, they pre- 
fer that individuals shall eat together privately in their own 
homes. Even as the food is distributed according to the 
nature of the year, so also it is apportioned weekly accord- 
ing to the number of families. But provision of wine is 
made for a half year, or if conditions admit, of still longer 
period. They get their fresh meat from the meat shop, 
and they take away as much as is assigned to them. Fish, 
as also game, and all sorts of birds are distributed to them 
according to each one's proportion, the time and age being 
taken into consideration. There are ordinarily four dishes, 
and these after being carefully washed are prepared by the 
women, and are seasoned with wise and pious words. Who- 
ever wishes to have a guest may do so, and the parties con- 



i6o Christianopolis 

cemed, join their dishes accordingly ; or if it be a foreigner, 
they ask from the public supplies what may be necessary. 
For the kitchen, which I have mentioned above, serves this 
purpose, that whatever decency requires beyond the regular 
measure may be obtained from it. Since grown children are 
brought up elsewhere, in most instances a family consists 
of four or five, less frequently six individuals, father, 
mother, and one or two children. Servingmen and serving- 
women are a rare thing, nor very noticeable, except in the 
case of those attending the sick, those in confinement, or 
babies. The husband and wife perform together the ordi- 
nary duties of the home, and the rest is taken care of in 
the public workshop. Matters relating to boys and girls 
just arriving at adolescence, we shall hear of later. Let 
us just consider for a minute what an enormous burden we 
would be freed from, if the multiplex difficulty of providing 
food and drink, and the perplexity and daily care of stuffing 
our stomachs were taken from us. 



XVI. 



OCCUPATIONS. 

Their work, or as they prefer to hear it called, " the 
employment of their hands," is conducted in a certain pre- 
scribed way, and all the things made are brought into a 
public booth. From here every workman receives out of 
the store on hand, whatever is necessary for the work of the 
coming week. For the whole city is, as it were, one single 
workshop, but of all difi^erent sorts of crafts. The ones in 
charge of these duties are stationed in the smaller towers 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis i6i 

at the corners of the wall; they know ahead of time what 
is to be made, in what quantity, and of what form, and they 
inform the mechanics of these items. If the supply of 
material in the work booth is sufficient, the workmen are 
permitted to indulge and give play to their inventive genius. 
No one has any money, nor is there any use for any private 
money; yet the republic has its own treasury. And in this 
respect the inhabitants are especially blessed because no one 
can be superior to the other in the amount of riches owned, 
since the advantage is rather one of power and genius, and 
the highest respect, that of morals and piety. They have 
very few working hours, yet no less is accomplished than in 
other places as it is considered disgraceful by all that 
one should take more rest and leisure time than is allowed. 
Since in other places it is true that ten working men with 
difficulty support one idler, it will not be difficult to believe 
that with all these men working there is some time of 
leisure left for the individuals. And yet they all together 
attend to their labors in such a way that they seem to 
benefit rather than harm their physical bodies. Where 
there is no slavery, there is nothing irksome in the human 
body which weighs down or weakens. And who will doubt 
that where God is favorable, all things are done with greater 
force and zeal, more easily and more accurately than where, 
against the wishes and favor of God, a mass of useless 
buildings is heaped up? 



i62 Christianopolis 

XVII. 

VACATION PERIODS. 

It will not be unprofitable for us to see how the inhaW- 
tants of Christianopolis spend their leisure time, or to name 
it more properly, the breathing spell which is allowed one. 
When they have cheerfully done enough to fill the require- 
ments of piety, patriotism, and literature, and have exer- 
cised their bodies in the mechanical arts according as 
the season admits, they take longer or shorter periods of 
quiet. This vacation, they say, they owe not so much to 
the flesh as to the spirit, not less to the soul than to the 
body. There is the greatest need that we return to our- 
selves as often as possible and shake off the dust of the 
earth; that we may restock our minds with generous reso- 
lutions and attack vice, it is necessary to take a fresh 
start; that we may revive the wearied faculties of the soul 
and sharpen our wits, we must stand near or even sit 
down upon a whetstone. Thus you will not expect to find 
the sporting of fools nor the noise of aimless wandering, the 
result of this national rest; but a relaxation of the mind, 
intent upon some subject, and especially a recollecting of 
things that pertain to a care of the future life, lest any- 
thing at all dearer or higher than God be brought back to 
us. So during these free hours it is common to see the 
greatest calmness among the citizens, many devoting them- 
selves to some special service to God, or to some neighbor 
bearing a cross, or especially instructing each other mutually 
in Christian conversations. But alas how different among 
those who struggle in the world and whom Satan harasses, 
who weary the spirit and relax the flesh, who are occupied 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 163 

in the mud and rest in filth ! They are never less with 
themselves than when alone. How therefore should they 
hear the Lord speaking among us ! How should they at- 
tempt to do manly deeds of valor! How should they give 
birth to new offspring of genius or discover new inventions 
when between the tumults of others and themselves they 
grow deaf and stiff ! 



XVIII. 

rewards. 

And now, I judge, you will want to know of what ad- 
vantage it is for one of regular morals and excelling 
talent to live in this city when you hear nothing of re- 
wards. Well, he of the Christian City solves this difficulty 
very easily; for it is glory and gain enough for him to 
please God. And yet incentives of the Holy Spirit are 
not lacking. For really deeds of the children of God are 
of such weight with these citizens, so often are they praised, 
and in so many ways are they impressed upon the minds 
of the youth, that every generous nature burns with a de- 
sire to imitate. Besides, the pleasure of the consciousness 
of having done right, the dignity of a nature that has over- 
come darkness, the greatness of dominion over the pas- 
sions, and above all, the unspeakable joy of the companion- 
ship of the saints, take possession of a refined soul far too 
deeply than that the renouncing of worldly pleasure should 
be feared. Even if anything makes it worth while on the 
part of a Christian to be preferred to others, here there is 
no prerogative except of virtue, in this order that the greatest 
worth is that of devotion to God, then of moderation, after 



164 Christianopolis 

that of a subdued nature, and finally of human strength; 
and as far as each one is nearer the will of God, that much 
the more fitted is he thought to be for governing others. 
And since the world changes this around, understands but 
little the experience of a good life, and pricks up its ears 
to hear the pipe of vanity, it subjects the mind and body 
to the poorest guide. It is not surprising for one not to 
know what he wishes or does not wish, and for blind leaders, 
though promising light, to follow a far blinder one into the 
abysses of darkness. 



XIX. 

PENALTIES. 

In the same way we may say of penalties, there is no use 
of these in a place that contains the very sanctuary of God 
and a chosen state, in which Christian liberty can bear not 
even commands, much less threats, but is borne voluntarily 
toward Christ. Yet it must be confessed that human flesh 
cannot be completely conquered anywhere. And so if it 
does not profit by repeated warnings (and in case of need, 
serious corrections) severer scourges must be used to sub- 
due it. For this purpose fit remedies are on hand, not of 
one sort only, but chosen to suit different individuals. For 
truly, if one withdraws the sustenance from one's carnal 
appetites, or substitutes the cudgel for the tickle of lust, 
much may be remedied. It is the art of arts to guard against 
permitting sin to become easy for anyone. On the other 
hand, how wicked it is to vent one's wrath against those 
toward whose ruin you hurl stones. At any rate, the judges 
of the Christian City observe this custom especially, that 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 165 

they punish most severely those misdeeds which are di- 
rected straight against God, less severely those which injure 
men, and lightest of all those which harm only property. 
How differently the world does, punishing a petty thief 
much more harshly than a blasphemer or an adulterer. As 
the Christian citizens are always chary of spilling blood, 
they do not willingly agree upon the death sentence as a 
form of punishment ; whereas the world, ever prodigal even 
of a brother's blood, pronounces wantonly the first sentence 
which occurs to it, feeling safe in this subterfuge that it has 
not personally employed sword, rope, wheel, and fire, but 
only through a servant of the law. Christ be my witness, it 
is certainly handsome logic on the part of a government to 
make thieves of dissolute characters, adulterers of the 
intemperate, homicides of loafers, witches of courtesans, 
in order that it may have someone with whose blood to 
make expiation to God ! It is far more humane to tear out 
the first elements and roots of vice than to lop off the ma- 
ture stalks. For anyone can destroy a man, but only the best 
one can reform. 



XX. 

NOBILITY. 

In this republic no value is set on either succession of 
title or blood apart from virtue. For while it is true that 
those who deserve well are given the highest rank and are 
decked with medals, yet the advantage of this to their 
children, as in advance of others, is that they are admon- 
ished more frequently of this family example, and thus the 
heredity of virtue is inculcated. For if they possess this, 



i66 Christianopolis 

they are easily moved to the laudable memory of their 
parents; in such a way however, that a free choice may not 
be detrimental to the new virtue. For those who rise in 
life by the help of God, which is the first moving factor of 
all virtues, are to be honored in the worship of God, and 
employed in conducting the state business. But this is 
always evident, that divine gifts rise here and sink there, 
thus showing that excelling is not a human attainment nor 
due to the distribution of a few men, but to the choice of 
heaven. It is not necessary to state what a mistake those 
make who so frequently take the license of sinning and 
the tinder of corruption out of the prerogative of family 
distinction, with the result that the offspring of heroes, 
who has not deteriorated, is an object of surprise. For 
as it is true that parents climb the lofty citadel of virtue 
over the difficult hills of work, so children often slide 
through the labyrinths of extravagant pleasure to the low- 
est engulfing depths of vice. If these should look back or 
around into the affairs of mortals, they would never admit 
that what might have commended them to God and men, 
did, by free rein to their pleasures and destruction of 
their flatterers, direct them into the readiest downward path 
of body and soul. 



XXI. 

OFFICIALS. 

This central part of the state is governed by eight men, 
each of whom lives in one of the larger towers. Under them 
are eight other subordinates, distributed through the smaller 
towers. The spirit of all of these is rather parental than 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 167 

overbearing; and the fear of those intrusted to the authori- 
ties is not greater than their respect. For whatsoever they 
may order others to do, this they do also themselves. They 
do not lead any more with the voice than by their example. 
Nothing is easier than imitation under conditions of this 
kind, nothing more natural than following an example, 
where no one corrects except he be himself above criticism ; 
where no one teaches except he be himself learned; and 
where the rule itself is the precept. He who first brought 
violence and disdain into the world had nothing divine about 
him. God approaches His own, and is approached of them. 
God is heard of them and hears. So far from mutual 
worship and contempt being permitted us, earthen vessels 
of the same clay, it is not even seemly. Since all things 
in the Christian Republic are referred to God, there is no 
need of secrets and councils of state, in which Satan in 
his kingdom rejoices. Here everything is open, giving 
opportunity, forsooth, to fear God and to love one's neigh- 
bor, which is the very crowning point of human society as 
well as of divine law. What answer then will they give, 
who convert religion, justice, and human intercourse into 
veritable chains, shackles, and prisons; and who with 
wrinkled brow, poisoned dress, and oily tongue, a hardened 
heart and a grasping hand, wish not merely to be in com- 
mand of men, but to lord it over beasts and fill whole 
volumes with these monstrosities? Surely neither the law 
of God nor the Gospels of Christ admit confusion; and 
yet they never praise the human dominion in their followers, 
but always inculcate a common brotherly communion. And 
now because the church has renounced these principles, she 
has become richer and more formidable, but not at all holier, 
she who could not be influenced even in her last cleansing 
to lay aside arrogance and harshness and persuade her 



1 68 Christianopolis 

curators to use a more sensible government. And so the 
Christian grieves and is kept in the midst of Christianity 
neither giving orders nor yet sufficiently obeying. 



XXII. 

PUBLIC WORKS. 

There are also public duties, to v^hich all citizens have 
obligation, such as watching, guarding, harvesting of grain 
and wine, working roads, erecting buildings, draining 
ground ; also certain duties of assisting in the factories, which 
are imposed on all in turn according to age and sex, but 
not very often nor for a long time. For even though cer- 
tain experienced men are put in charge of all the duties, 
yet when men are asked for, no one refuses the state his 
services and strength. For what we are in our homes, they 
are in their city, which they not undeservedly think a home. 
And for this reason it is no disgrace to perform any pub- 
lic function, so long as it be not indecent. Hence all work, 
even that which seems rather irksome, is accomplished in 
good time and without much difficulty, since the prompt- 
ness of the great number of workmen permits them easily to 
collect or distribute the greatest mass of things. Who does 
not believe, since we are willing, all of us, to rejoice in and 
enjoy privileges and conveniences of a community, that 
the care and the work are ordinarily imposed upon a few, 
while continual idleness and gluttony are made permissible 
to the many? On the contrary, who denies that every citi- 
zen^ in his own place and order, owes his best efforts to the 
republic, not merely with his tongue but also with hand and 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 169 

shoulder? With an entirely mistaken sense of delicacy do 
the carnal-minded shrink from touching earth, water, stones, 
coal, and things of that sort; but they think it grand to 
have in their possession to delight them, horses, dogs, har- 
lots, and similar creatures. Now the inhabitants of Chris- 
tianopolis laugh at this and not unjustly, since painted on 
their coats of arms they show here and there, not implements 
of fierceness and pomp, but those of humanity and work; 
and against other people the former prove a confession of 
their vanity and brutality. 



XXIII. 

the homes. 

No one owns a private house; they are granted and as- 
signed to individuals for their use ; and, if the state desires, 
they easily change their abodes. Almost all the houses are 
built after one model ; they are well kept and especially free 
from anything unclean. There are three rooms in the aver- 
age house, a bathroom, a sleeping apartment, and a kitchen. 
And the latter two are generally separated by a board par- 
tition. The middle part within the towers has a little open 
space with a wide window, where wood and the heavier 
things are raised aloft by pulleys. The house has one door 
and the head of the house is responsible for it. This leads to 
the balcony from which one ascends either through the 
towers or by way of a spiral stairs. In this connection the 
plan should be examined carefully, for there is not leisure to 
recount details. At the rear of each building is a garden, 
kept with much care and nicety, inasmuch as the gardens 
are conducive to health and furnish fragrance. The roof 



170 Christianopolis 

serves a common purpose; for the walls, built up in steps 
and frequently constructed as a check for fire, separate and 
the gutters unite it. The buildings have double windows, 
one of glass and one of wood^ inserted in the wall in such a 
way that each may be opened or closed as is desired. There 
are small, private cellars, for not a great deal need be 
stored in them. And so whatever extravagance and burdens 
there may be in the world, these people draw together into 
what you might call a very suitable shell, where nothing is 
lacking which should cover a man and contain his belong- 
ings. The houses are kept up at the expense of the state, 
and provision is made by the carefulness of inspectors that 
nothing is thoughtlessly destroyed or changed. Fire can 
hardly ever do any damage or break through and spread. 
They drive out cold with furnace heat, and counteract heat 
with shade. How unfortunate are those who believe that 
they have built lasting dwellings for themselves here and 
then discover too late that they have been working in the 
dark for others; meantime they have never been at home, 
not even in their own bodies. But even more unhappy, if 
Christ passes by their inauspicious palaces and enters the 
huts of the poor! 



XXIV. 

FURNITURE AND FURNISHINGS. 

Now it will be easy to guess what the furnishings are. 
There are none except the most necessary, and even then 
scant. The beds for both family and stranger are com- 
fortable, neat, and well arranged. The neatness of the 
women provides for clean bed- and table-linen as well as 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 171 

underwear and chaplets. There are the necessary dishes 
for the table and enough cooking utensils. For why should 
you want great numbers of things when all that you may 
reasonably desire can always be obtained at the public store- 
house? They have only two suits of clothes, one for their 
work, one for the holidays ; and for all classes they are made 
alike. Sex and age are shown by the form of the dress. 
The cloth is made of linen or wool, respectively for sum- 
mer or winter, and the color for all is white or ashen gray ; 
none have fancy, tailored goods. Drinking goblets are for 
the most part of glass, yet some are tin and the rest brass. 
Of the arms and letters we will speak later. It is quite 
evident that all this furniture requires no care except that 
incident upon cleaning, no guarding except the simplest, 
no expenses except the most insignificant; yet they are 
not less effective than the heaps, caves, chests, and like 
prisons of the riches of this world. If you need any in- 
strument other than what is in daily use, you may get it 
at the supply house. For there are enough implements on 
hand, both private and public^ since the whole state is one 
of artisans. Moreover, they ought to be ashamed of them- 
selves who are inactive in the great multitude, but in the 
meantime pride themselves with all sorts of vessels and in- 
struments, while they do absolutely nothing except with 
other people's hands, eyes, and ears, and in the same way 
accumulate wealth with useless solicitude; wretched they 
are in the midst of such a laborious and manifold group of 
props, with which they hope to be raised from the ground 
on stilts and appear sublime. They are made fools equally 
for their attempt to wander over the earth and to fly toward 
the sky. 



172 Christianopolis 

XXV. 

NIGHT LIGHTS. 

They do not allow the night to be dark, but brighten it 
up with lighted lanterns, the object being to provide for the 
safety of the city and to put a stop to useless wandering 
about, but also to render the night watches less unpleasant. 
They would strive in this way to resist the dark kingdom 
of Satan and his questionable pastimes ; and they wish to 
remind themselves of the everlasting light. What Anti- 
christ expects from the great number of wax candles, let 
him see for himself; but let us not shrink back from any 
system which lessens the fear of a man working at night in 
the darkness, and which removes the veil which our flesh 
is so anxious to draw over license and dissoluteness. And 
there is no reason why we should consider expense here, 
when in other matters these citizens are exceptionally 
economical and when in other places there is the greatest 
extravagance in most all affairs. Oh, if we would but turn 
more to the light, there would not be such an opportunity 
for every sort of meanness, nor such great numbers of 
swindlers ! Would that the light of our hearts were burn- 
ing more frequently, and that we would not so often 
endeavor to deceive the all-seeing eye of God ! Now that 
the darkness serves as excuse for the world and opens it 
for all sorts of baseness, while it spreads blindness over 
those things of which it is ashamed, what will be the situa- 
tion when at the return of Christ, the Sun, every fog will 
be dispelled and the world's corruptness which it guards 
with so many covers, shall appear, when the wantonness of 
the heart, the hypocrisy of the lips, the deceitful deeds of 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 173 

the hands, and its much other filth shall be a disgrace to 
itself and a mockery to the blessed? 



XXVI. 

THE COLLEGE. 

Now is the time when we approach the innermost shrine 
of the city which you would rightly call the center of 
activity of the state. It is square, two hundred and seventy 
feet on the outside, a hundred and ninety feet on the inside, 
bounded by four corner towers and intersected by as many 
others, opposite each other and inclosed by a double line of 
gardens. There are in the whole building four stories, ris- 
ing respectively to a height of twelve, eleven, ten, and nine 
feet; and the towers extend eight feet more even above 
these. Toward the market-place, on the inside, there is an 
open porch, very attractive with its seventy-two columns. 
Here religion, justice, and learning have their abode, and 
theirs is the control of the city ; and eloquence has been 
given them as an interpreter. Never have I seen so great 
an amount of human perfection collected into one place, 
and you will confess the same when you shall have heard a 
description of the sights. And yet I often wonder what 
people mean who separate and disjoin their best powers, the 
joining of which might render them blessed as far as this 
may be on earth. There are those who would be considered 
religious, who throw ofif all things human; there are some 
who are pleased to rule, though without any religion at all ; 
learning makes a great noise, flattering now this one, now 
that, yet applauding itself most. What finally may the 



174 Christianopolis 

tongue do except provoke God, confuse men, and destroy 
itself? So there would seem to be a need of co-operation 
which only Christianity can give — Christianity which con- 
ciliates God with men and unites men together, so that 
they have pious thoughts, do good deeds, know the truth, 
and finally die happily to live eternally. Let us then co- 
operate once lest we be separated for eternity. 



XXVII. 

THE TRIUMVIRATE. 

Now let US consider why they prefer an aristocracy to 
a monarchy. For though a monarchy has many advantages 
yet they prefer to preserve this dignity for Christ, and 
they distrust, not without cause, the self-control of human 
beings. Christ does not tolerate too absolute a representa- 
tive, nor does a man raised too high look up at the sky ; he 
looks down upon the earth. One's own experiences are the 
nearest, and they are worse, the more one is given to tyranny 
and weakness of character. In such an instance, at least, 
the triumvirate is the safest form of government, when it 
admits only the best in the state and those most experienced 
in public affairs, since one must work up through all steps 
of virtue to it. Each one of the leaders does his own duty, 
yet not without the knowledge of the others ; all consult 
together in matters that concern the safety of the state. 
Each has a senate, but on fixed days they all meet together 
that decision in the most important matters may be reached 
with common consent. As is fitting, all these men must be 
loyal, prudent, and wise ; yet some are designated for these 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 175 

ranks, or distinguished as being more exact. The chan- 
cellor announces all the decrees of the senators, repeats 
them, and makes them public. This man must be one of 
greatest tact and trustworthiness. No litigation is adjusted 
here ; for the citizens have no controversies too great to be 
settled by the arbitration of the tribunes. But questions of 
the truth of the Christian religion, the cultivation of vir- 
tues, the methods of improving the mind ; also the need of 
treaties, war, negotiations, buildings, and supplies are de- 
liberated upon, with great, yet modest freedom and with a 
proper appreciation of the gifts of God. So it comes that 
they act upon serious matters calmly while other peoples 
become disturbed and anxious over trivial things, a very 
evident witness of their vanity, who roll up and impose 
troubles upon themselves, or if there are none, trump up 
some in order that they may torture themselves in bearing up 
under them. 



XXVIII. 

RELIGION. 

Looking all these things over, I might have suspected 
this place of being some fanatical city, since, in the world 
whatever seeks the skies is heretical. But a double plate 
on which stood the sum of their confession and profession 
inscribed in letters of gold, soon freed me from error. The 
words of this tablet, as I wrote them down, have the fol- 
lowing import: 

I. We believe with our whole heart in one triune God, very 
good, very wise, great, and everlasting : the Father, who created the 
world out of nothing, preserves, moves, and directs the same, whose 



176 Christianopolis 

ministers are good angels, against whom the condemned Satan is 
rebellious, whose delight is man, once the divine image and prince 
of the world, to whom sin is hateful, whose interpreter of all 
wisdom and summary of all uprightness is the Scriptures, and 
whose love, through the giving of His Son, is most open and kind. 

II. We believe with a whole heart in Jesus Christ, the Son of 
God and Mary, coequal with the Father yet like us, our Redeemer, 
united as to personality in two natures and communicating in both, 
our Prophet, King, and Priest, whose law is grace, whose scepter 
is that of peace, whose sacrifice, that of the cross. 

III. We believe in the same regeneration of the Spirit, the admis- 
sion of sin, even the brotherhood of our flesh with Him and in 
Him, and the restoring to dignity, lost by the fall of Adam. 

IV. We believe that by His life, suffering, and death He has 
given satisfaction to the justice of God, that mercy has been 
merited, the same has been brought to us through the Gospels, 
given over to our faith, intrusted to the purity of life, and that 
thence the dominion of sin was crucified, destroyed, and buried. 

V. We believe that the kingdom of hell and the poison of 
death have been destroyed, and that in the victory of the resurrec- 
tion, security has been restored to us under the care of God. 

VI. We believe the kingdom of Christ is infinite and eternal, 
where He is present to His church at the right hand of the Father 
Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and that He feeds, keeps, and quickens 
her spiritually with His Word, even as He does literally with flesh 
and blood. 

VII. We believe His supreme judgment, which He shall pro- 
nounce upon all men, good and evil, with highest majesty, and 
shall distinguish the just from the unjust most critically. 

VIII. We believe with our whole heart in the Holy Spirit, our 
Comforter and Teacher, by whom we are sanctified, enlivened, and 
equipped, after we go from freedom to doing good, by whom 
we are made wise beyond nature, armed against nature, and 
put at peace with her; by whom we grow warm, are united and 
divided into languages ; by whom we see and hear the past, present, 
and future properly correlated; by whom we look into the Word 
of God. 

IX. We believe in a holy, universal church, purified by the water 
of baptism from infancy, and fed by the communion of the 
eucharist, thus guarded with the seals of the new covenant, taught 
in the ministry of the Word, disciplined with the cross, ready to 
serve in prayers, active in charity, generous in communion, powerful 
in excommunication, which though distributed over the earth, the 
unity of faith joins, the diversity of gifts strengthens, Christ, the 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 177 

Bridegroom and Head, renders invincible, and which the standing 
of the different classes and the purity of marriage embellish. 

X. We believe in a free forgiveness of all sins through the min- 
istry of the Word, and in the obligation of our gratitude and obedi- 
ence on account of this. 

XI. We believe in the general resurrection of the human flesh, 
so much desired by the faithful that on account of it they par- 
ticularly love a natural death ; so formidable to the wicked that on 
account of it they consider the natural life to be especially cursed. 

XII. We believe in an eternal life by which we shall obtain 
perfect light, ability, quiet, knowledge, plenty, and joy; by which 
also the malice of Satan, the impurity of the world, the corruption 
of men shall be checked; by which it shall be well with the good, 
and evil with evil-doers, and the visible glory of the Holy Trinity 
shall be ours forever. 



XXIX. 

ADMINISTRATION OF THE STATE. 

Thus far it has been permitted us to hear about the re- 
ligion ; the Other tablet prescribes the rules of daily life, and 
the words read as follows: 



I. We strive with all our strength to submit ourselves in all 
reverence and adoration to God, the one Founder and Ruler of 
the human race, and to prefer nothing in heaven or on earth to 
Him; to refer our life and all our actions to His glory and to 
succeed with His aid. 

II. We strive never to provoke the holy name of God with any 
form of blasphemy, never to alienate it by grumbling, dishonor it 
by frivolity, neglect it on account of laziness ; and we strive to 
regard reverently the most holy mysteries of our salvation. 

III. We strive to have leisure ever for our God, to rest from 
the confusion of cravings of the flesh, to provide a quiet shrine 
for the Trinity, a pure dwelling place for our neighbor, breathing- 
space for all creatures, to devote our time only to the Divine Word. 

IV. We strive to preserve and practice love to parents, respect 
to our superiors, propriety to our equals, modesty toward those that 



178 Christianopolis 

have been trusted, labor for the republic, a good example to pos- 
terity, and to perform the duties of Christian love with mutual 
kindnesses. 

V. We strive to bridle our wrath, to restrain our impatience, to 
value human blood, to forget revenge, to abhor jealousy, and care- 
fully to imitate the very gentle heart of Christ. 

VI. We strive to shield the innocence of youth, the virginity of 
maidens, the purity of matrimony, the unpolluted restraint of 
widowhood, and to overcome luxury and intoxication with the tem- 
perance and fasting of the flesh. 

VII. We strive to enjoy the goods intrusted to us by God, as 
diligently as possible, peacefully, properly, and with giving of 
thanks; to exercise the duties of acquisition and distribution as 
justly as possible, of employment modestly and of conservation 
safely. 

VIII. We strive to propagate the light of truth, the purity of 
conscience, the integrity of bearing testimony, freely and correctly, 
to reverence the presence of God at every time and place, to protect 
the innocent and to convict the guilty. 

IX. We strive to disturb nothing of another, nor to confound 
divine with human things, to submit to our lot, to inhabit our 
dwellings peacefully, and to despise the sojourning place of the 
whole world. 

X. We strive so to establish our intercourse that each one's 
property be given and preserved to him, and that no one would 
rather covet the affairs of another than to put his own in order and 
devote them to the glory of God and the public safety. 

When I had read these tablets I was not a little more 
strengthened in the belief that here lived a people of Christ, 
whose religion agreed with that of the apostles and the 
state administration with the law of God. For although 
pseudo-Christians boast of these two characteristics, yet 
anyone who associates with them, even occasionally, will 
easily see that their words are sacred, but their secret acts 
unfeeling; though their confession is honorable, their con- 
fusion is distressing; it will be evident that their formula 
of peace is very frequently a thoroughfare of discord ; mean- 
time they accuse their flesh and yet will not accept the help- 
ing hand of God nor the corrections of the Spirit. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 179 

XXX. 

the minister or presbyter. 

Now when I was led away from this place, I was ad- 
mitted into the presence of the chief priest, not by any means 
a Roman pontifex, but a Christian. His name was Abi- 
aldon, a man of revered old age and from whose countenance 
there shone real divinity. No one is more practiced in the 
Holy Word, no one more experienced in the same. When 
he was graciously and zealously speaking with me, I recog- 
nized the ambassador and mediator of God ; he did not look 
at things of the earth at all. When I attempted according 
to our custom to recognize this man with titles, he, disdain- 
ing such earthly absurdities, would not tolerate it, saying 
he considered himself sufficiently well appreciated if I be- 
lieved him to be the servant of God and my spiritual father. 
They say that he is very often inspired of God and that he 
then announces some unusual things, but with the greatest 
modesty of the spirit. Only once a week, and that on Sun- 
day, he addresses the people and teaches them with divine 
eloquence ; and they confess that they have never listened to 
him without receiving an inward impulse for good. He is 
ashamed to advise others to do a thing which he has not 
already done himself. Hence when standing before the 
people, though he be silent, he teaches. His whole time he 
spends in sacred meditations and especially in efforts to 
further Christianity, and he seeks no other refreshment 
than heavenly food. When he blessed me I felt something 
warm within me, and it permeated my whole being. Truly 
this genuine theology is more efficacious than the assertions 
of many among the worldly. I blushed when I remembered 



i8o Christianopolis 

the pride, greed, jealousy, and wine-drinking of some, and 
the other sins of our sacred order. You would suppose that 
they did not themselves believe what they were persuading 
others to believe, granted that they have actually learned to 
persuade anyone. Under their good favor, I was well 
pleased with Abialdon, a man of fervent spirit, but tem- 
perate flesh, a lover of the heavens, but forgetful of the 
things of the world, always doing, rarely speaking, intoxi- 
cated with God, abstaining from voluptuousness, guarding 
the flock, neglecting himself, first in merit, last in boasting. 



XXXI. 

CONSCIENCE. 

I DO not hesitate either to praise the wife of the preacher 
(for he is a married man). Her name is Senidis, a very 
excellent woman, observing to the last detail the rules of 
piety and moderation. She neglects nothing of which it is 
right that her husband should be advised. Being very sen- 
sible herself, she is not often deceived ; and being upright 
she does not deceive others. She always bears an untroubled 
countenance and is of calm mind, being, as she well knows, 
most happily married. She has blessed her husband with a 
numerous and beautiful offspring; two of these children 
are daughters, Alethea and Parrhesia. She guards her own 
affairs carefully, takes greatest pride in her married state, 
and seeks nothing else. In order that nothing may go 
wrong, because of her negligence, she tends things care- 
fully and aspires to cleanliness in everything. She speaks 
when there is reason. At other times she prefers to keep 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis i8i 

silent. When there is need of skill and diligence she has 
no equal ; for this reason the hangings and coverings of 
the shrine were woven by her hands. When I remember 
her, I am disgusted with worldly women ; for they either 
are superstitiously scrupulous, or altogether dull, or they 
rudely scold, or they admit anything however wicked, or 
they wrinkle up their faces, or they revel wantonly; finally 
they keep giving their husbands advice, and never in sea- 
son; they never love them sincerely nor take care of them 
economically. Forsooth, such is the light-mindedness of 
the consciences of the world, that after the dances of human 
vanity, when the honey of vices has turned bitter, they do 
not turn to God with a timely change of heart; but they 
annoy one with their dog-like yelps and drive people to 
desperate, hasty acts. Happy is that holy matron who by 
her example has taught that it is possible to pay the closest 
attention to one's affairs, and yet be holy with a joyful 
countenance. 



XXXII. 

THE minister's ASSISTANT OR THE DIACONUS. 

The church of the Christian City has also a diaconus by 
the name of Achban. He is very closely associated with 
Abialdon, and his duty is to educate the youth, distribute the 
sacraments, perform marriage ceremonies, and give com- 
fort to the sick. Not that this is not also the office of the 
presbyter himself, but less his than that of the diaconus. 
The superior does not despise his colleague, but rather 
the colleague has the greatest respect for his superior. 
The former does not burden and weigh down the latter 



i82 Christianopolis 

with heavy tasks, but the latter supports the former. The 
one does not command, but the other is naturally obedient. 
Even as between father and son there should be a mutual 
affection, exactly such is the relation in this case, though 
there is little difference in their ages. No power commands 
more effectively and none serves more readily than love. 
The diaconus does not care to make any changes, nor 
does he ever forget himself so far as to boast. But he is 
glad to hear from his spiritual father what God commands, 
what is best for the church. He preaches one sermon be- 
fore the people in the middle of the week. I do not 
know why they should meet in assembly less often than 
others, unless it be, as I suspect, that they prefer to have 
sermons well prepared, a thing impossible when there are 
too many in a given time; and they make up the difference 
generously with their daily prayers and readings. They 
receive from their theological seminary those who read in 
public the devout meditations of illustrious servants of God, 
a custom which they think far in advance of the juvenile 
efforts of others. And it did not displease me either when 
I heard a reading grounded on a firmer basis than mere 
doubtful memory. Truly one man is not sufficient to 
hearken unto the Holy Spirit, bridle his passions, tame 
the barbarians, bear his labors, take care of his family, 
and earn his daily bread; and yet the world asks this very 
thing of ministers twenty years of age; and, for fear they 
may have a lack of something to do, they are compelled 
to combat hunger. I marvel at two points truly, in the 
case of men who prevail upon mere boys to care for their 
souls, and who are prevailed upon to intrust their souls to 
them. Of course I would give way if there were many 
like Timothy, but since I see so few of these, and especially 
since I see so much wickedness, I grieve for the lot of the 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 183 

church which is vexed at the sluggishness and audacity of 
the world. 



XXXIII. 

THE JUDGE. 

Then I met the second of the triumvirs, Abiefer by name, 
a man born after such a pattern that he does to no one 
what he would not wish done to himself, and what he desires 
for himself, he tries to secure for all. Neither blood nor 
riches, which here amount to nothing, exalted him; but a 
calm and peace-loving soul. He does not make his responses, 
confined, as it were, and seated on a tripod ; and a citizen 
does not tremble at his look; but like the rising sun, he 
shines upon all and clears up everything. To state it all 
briefly, he is the pater familias of the city, and he re- 
joices in being called the minister of Christ. It is his duty 
to keep close watch over the measures, weights, and num- 
bers, and to administer the specific proportion of things. 
Whatever methods they exercise in taming their passions 
and in thoroughly overcoming Adam, these he considers his 
sphere and he regulates everything with a view toward 
life eternal. For he feels that the best plan for a republic 
is one which agrees as nearly as possible with heaven; and 
being very pious himself, he believes that a propitious God is 
the salvation of a city, the destruction of the same a wrathful 
God. So he strives that the Divinity become not ofif ended by 
the sins of the citizens, that it rather be conciliated by adorn- 
ments of faith. Hence the city is invincible, unless it yield 
first to its own vices. No evil however small is admitted 
into it, and the citizens do not fear Satan's influence, but 



184 Christianopolis 

overthrow it as soon as possible. Surely one could never 
wonder enough at the feeling of security of the world, which 
tolerates the public trading in vices and does not fear con- 
tagion; which offers abominations to God and is not sure 
of the latter's disgust ; which deals with the greatest political 
schemes and yet boasts of a Christian society ; which thinks 
it has provided enough for itself when it is sure that one is 
not lacking who will govern it with great pomp and with 
the greatest protection of all lusts. Even as the Christian 
City i& august and most flourishing because of its watchful- 
ness of justice, so worldly cities wither away from day 
to day under the weakness of wickedness. 



XXXIV. 

UNDERSTANDING. 

Now I pray that you listen to some facts regarding his 
wife. I have never seen a woman less credulous, I have 
never heard conversation deeper or more considerate. But 
if she once believes a thing and repeats it, you may depend 
upon its being true. Hence she does not do anything with- 
out cause, a cause in which her husband agrees. She has 
the sight of an eagle, eyes that can bear the light of the 
sun and can see very far. She tolerates no empty rumors 
nor the unreliable reports of the crowd. She does not 
tolerate the concealment of virtue nor the advertisement of 
vice ; she does not countenance the restriction of liberty nor 
the loosing of servitude; nor does she stand any overhasti- 
ness. Her husband is not ashamed to discuss difficult prob- 
lems with her ; he hears her freely, but reserves the decision 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 185 

for himself. If she gets a little too curious regarding mat- 
ters of his sphere he holds her in check and admonishes her 
of heaven, and requires that she restrict herself to her own 
duties. Thus she lives peaceably and joyfully, under the 
direction of her husband, a very fitting example to those 
who either communicate all things or nothing with the 
women. Whoever has a logician for wife cannot even 
believe in God, unless the wife gives her approval, and he 
takes oath to all her foolishness as being entirely true. 
He who has an Athenian, never bears the slightest inter- 
ruption. What utterly absurd things are done in a republic 
because the why is neither known nor tolerated. The world 
has faith in the unbelieving, follows the blind, is mortally 
afraid of the weak, raises the lazy, and admits Heaven knows 
what absurdities. It ought not, then, take offense when 
someone laughs at it; it should rather appreciate the talka- 
tive ones who keep asking it with importunity why it does 
and suffers this or that. The world will never regret hav- 
ing been urged from darkness into light, from servitude into 
freedom. 



XXXV. 

MEASURE. 

As assistant to this second triumvir stands Achitob, the 
state economist, whose care it is that the state revenues and 
storehouse supplies are so distributed among the individuals, 
that not less than his just amount falls to each one. This 
is not so difficult a task as one might suppose; for since 
no one lays claim to any prerogative or asks as his right 
more food than the season of the year and the custom of 



1 86 Christianopolis 

the city prescribe, but all preserve an equal ratio, the di- 
viding is quickly done in accordance with the number, and 
the amount of the year's produce ; and to see that the food 
is cleanly and properly cooked, is the special duty and care 
of the women, who also are to seek out and prepare for the 
sick those articles of food which are best adapted to them. 
Achitob has great ability at figuring and he so divides the 
yearly produce among the citizens that they never hunger, 
nor yet feast at the expense of their intellectual nature. 
This is a very desirable arrangement, especially in com- 
parison with those^ some of whom suffer hunger and others 
of whom measure the divine goodness not by plenty, but 
by superabundance and nausea. They are unworthy of 
life who seek the chief thing in life on the table or in the 
stomach, and who pay no attention to the food of heaven; 
but while the poor-looking servants of God are ascending 
to heaven, these persons, swelled by the foods of the world, 
are forced down to hell by the weight of their bellies. 
Nature is content with but few necessities; neither earth, 
sea, nor air is sufficient for the gluttony of one man until 
at length he is tortured in fire without end or measure. 



XXXVI. 

THE DIRECTOR OF LEARNING. 

The third of the triumvirs, Abida, has the sphere of 
human learning. I found him, contrary to expectation, 
without haughtiness or laziness. All about the man was 
kindly, nothing crabbed. It was thought there was little 
he did not know; yet in his modesty he professed an igno- 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 187 

ranee of all things. There was lack of nothing except, 
among his colleagues, the decorations of titles. He always 
said that the man who studied as a disciple under the direc- 
tion of the Holy Spirit, had accomplished something. When 
I inquired as to the sum of all learning, he mentioned Christ 
and Him crucified, saying that all things pointed toward 
Him. He seemed at one time contemning the earth and 
praising the heavens ; and then again he seemed to be esti- 
mating the earth highly, and the heavens as of less value. 
For he insisted that a close examination of the earth would 
bring about a proper appreciation of the heavens, and when 
the value of the heavens had been found, there would be a 
contempt of the earth. At the same time he entirely dis- 
approved of all that literature which did not bring one 
nearer to Christ; if it tended to separate one from Christ, 
he cursed it. He centered all importance in the church, 
which had been tossed about so many thousands of years 
upon the world-ocean; to the church were due, he said, all 
tongues, all history, all reasoning, all signs of nature, all 
arts of the heavens ; then finally one might expect the gift of 
blessed eternity. Only Christians have knowledge, but it is 
of God. All remaining things are foolishness, because they 
come out of one's self. These facts surprised me greatly, 
when I heard all things made light of, which among others 
are praised highly. But I was convinced when I remem- 
bered why we are born into this world, namely, to enjoy 
Christ, our absolute necessity, our invaluable gain. But 
when it falls our lot to die, woe to the miserable literature 
which has fed us for a few days on smoke ! Arise, thou 
sacred science which shall explain to us Christ, that we may 
here learn things that are not to be unlearned, but to be 
increased and extended into all ages ! 



i88 Christianopolis 

XXXVII. 

TRUTH. 

I OWE it to the excellent matron, his wife, since she was 
kind to me, to explain incidentally what kind of a woman 
she is. Nothing about her is false, everything simple 
and open. Whatever she sees, against divinity or humanity, 
she disapproves, but she chooses with kindness and sense. 
She knows of nothing so objectionable as hypocrisy and 
sophistry; she looks at all things from top to bottom, and 
such as she finds them, she makes them known to her hus- 
band. She sets no value upon gossip; but rejoices in the 
silence of the Spirit ; if any difference of opinion arises 
among the women, no one is more fit for conciliation than 
she is. Her conversation is brief and full of Christ, as is 
self-evident, and she convinces her adversaries without ex- 
citement. She preserves her modesty inviolate, though sev- 
eral times she was wooed by the philosophers on account 
of the charm of her countenance. Oh, marriage, blessed and 
much to be preferred by all persons, which unites those 
who are joined unencumbered with prejudices, cringing 
flattery, and falsehood! And though they are deceived by 
them, the deception pleases them and they prefer to hear 
monstrous fabrication rather than facts that are in accord 
with their own feelings. Alas for such willing blindness, 
such voluntary sadness ! In the presence of their dead 
bodies they dream of immortality; in the darkness they 
dream of clear light; in the midst of crime they dream of 
a well regulated life ; with shackles on their feet, of wings ; 
and what not. How true it is that the number of fools is 
never greater nor more intolerable than among those who 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 189 

profess wisdom. This most praiseworthy woman has done 
me this kindness, that she warned me of many mistakes, 
never before known to me. 



XXXVIII. 

THE TONGUE. 

The chancellor whom I mentioned above was in the 
neighborhood. He, too, is anxious to be called a minister of 
Christians. He is of great importance ; hence I would con- 
sider him a very bad influence in a wicked state, but an 
excellent one in a good state. They make sport of us who 
believe that he hears one thing and speaks another. I have 
found him frank and even perhaps somewhat heedless. He 
has good cause for avoiding intemperance; as a matter of 
fact, he married Moderation, a woman of excellent coun- 
sel, and she, as she is very observant of sacred silence, 
tempers all his conversation very happily. When he has 
to speak of God, he trembles ; when of Christ, he exults ; 
when of the Holy Spirit, he becomes enthusiastic; when 
his speech concerns man, he grieves; when it concerns na- 
ture, he investigates ; when Satan, he is disgusted ; when the 
world, he is ashamed ; when death, he smiles ; when heaven, 
he looks up. Never does he seem to be doing less than 
when he discusses daily matters; to such a degree he says 
we are engaged in details. He values time not to the first 
minute, but to the sixth or seventh, so that hour-glasses 
are not at all required. Coins are not cared for elsewhere, 
as he guards his words, for fear some hateful or poi- 
sonous one will escape his lips. And so all around the 



IQO Christianopolis 

Word of God resounds, Jesus speaks, the Holy Spirit 
breathes, man is ennobled, human nature is controlled, 
Satan gnashes his teeth, the world laughs, death loses its 
sting, and the heavens open. It is surely an admirable in- 
strument of God, which guards the oaths and rights of 
humanity, and is anxious to imitate the Word of God. For 
what Christ is to the universe, that this interpreter is to this 
Christian society^ in that he brings to light all that is hid- 
den, and makes known the secret corners. If God favors, 
he praises Him ; if He tests misdeeds, he confesses ; if He is 
angry, he intercedes ; and if He imposes a cross, he accepts 
it. If Satan interferes, he disputes the matter; if the flesh 
oppresses him, he sighs; and if supplies are withheld, he 
warns ; what need of more cases ? Whatsoever the Creator 
commands and is befitting the creature, he attempts ac- 
cording to his own ability and carries out with the readiest 
obedience, while the carnal-minded carry around burning 
torches in their mouths with which they set God, men, the 
world, and themselves afire, so that finally they blaze in inex- 
tinguishable flame. 



XXXIX. 

THE LIBRARY. 

When now I had paid my respects to these chief men, I 
was to be shown the halls of the citadel. There were 
twelve, destined to preserve the public affairs, all arched, 
thirty-three feet wide, thirty-three feet long, but not over 
twelve feet high. In the first room, a library of consider- 
able size, were guarded the creations of great and in- 
numerable natures, divided into groups and distributed 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 191 

according to subject-matter. Whatever we think has been 
lost, this I found there, to my very great surprise, al- 
most without exception. There is no language on earth 
which has not contributed something of its own to this 
place, no mind which is not here represented. Yet the 
citizens seemed to me not to consider the use of it very 
highly, and they were satisfied with fewer books — the 
more thorough ones. The highest authority among them is 
that of sacred literature, that is, of the Divine Book; and 
this is the prize which they recognize as conceded by divine 
gift to men and of inexhaustible mysteries; almost every- 
thing else they consider of comparatively little value, yet 
they are very well read and fortified in advance by this 
remedy, that they admire nothing that is mere babble. And 
they write books too, not because of any desire for reputa- 
tion, but with a view toward spreading the Christian faith, 
scorning the world, and rebuking Satan. This is the ardent 
desire of all, to realize how little one really knows, and from 
this starting-point to aspire to the true knowledge and to 
disdain the vain boast of the human mind. But there are 
many things which it is expedient not to know in this life, 
wherefore a holy simplicity is for many a library in itself. 
Others say they have enough to study out of the volume 
of this universe. While very many assert that they find 
more within themselves and trace the sources of all arts 
more easily, than out of whole piles of books. And so 
they are disgusted with all things ;n the world which do not 
have in them anything godly, and they collect them for a 
mockery of the human mind that they may convince their 
people of the uselessness of such. Farewell then to books, 
if we follow them only! Hail Christ, the Book of Life, 
out of which more easily, surely, and safely we may learn 
all. 



192 Christianopolis 

XL. 

THE ARMORY. 

Of the armory, which lies on the other side, they have a 
still more critical opinion. For while the world especially 
glories in war-engines, catapults, and other machines and 
weapons of war, these people look with horror upon all 
kinds of deadly and death-dealing instruments, collected in 
such numbers ; and they show them to visitors not without 
disapproval of human cruelty — disapproval, because so 
much is being contrived for seeking and dealing death, when 
death itself is so very near, and even hidden in one's bosom ; 
disapproval, that a man will take such a risk to bring upon 
his nearest brother that at which he himself trembles ; that 
so much danger is being overlooked in the hope, doubtful 
and for the most part treacherous, of some gain or another ; 
finally that such fierceness and violence is expended upon 
striving for things of absolutely no value, when a greater 
and more deadly danger impends from Satan, the world, and 
even from our own selves. However, they do bear arms, 
though unwillingly, for keeping off some greater evil, and 
they distribute them privately among the individual citizens, 
that they may serve in the homes in the case of sudden 
emergency. Meantime, they impress all the more seriously 
upon them that they be mindful of their spiritual armor, 
never expose their bodies, defenseless and bare of virtues, 
to Satan, never through drunkenness and gluttony forget 
their watches, but that they be swift and brave at their sta- 
tions, elude the enemy in ambush, and when he takes the 
oflfensive, repel him, strengthened with the spirit of God. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 193 
XLI. 

THE ARCHIVES. 

The hall adjoining the library is set apart for preserving 
the judicial proceedings, laws,, and public acts of the state. 
Here one may see the annals of many periods, from them 
behold the words and deeds of their predecessors, and 
compare these with the things accomplished or being ac- 
complished at present. If anything has been honorably 
and bravely done, it stands out as an example and a 
stimulus; if otherwise, they have opportunity to change 
and, as it were, upbraid themselves. No one may be igno- 
rant of the past history of his country; but the latter so 
strongly re-echoes every age, that they think they have 
lived in almost any age. Those who have excelled in merit 
to the advantage of their country, have great reputation; 
nor do those have less fame who have shone forth in 
loyalty to God, good sense toward the citizens, bravery 
against the enemy, or genius in the direction of the arts. 
When others neglect this, they are not without blame. How 
few people of to-day know the movements, plans, and trans- 
actions of a former age, or hear the lives of predecessors 
openly and frankly described ! Meantime people dream that 
they all were demigods ; and if anyone says they have made 
a mistake in anything, they resent it. No one really 
writes about the affairs of the world except flattery, the 
greatest enemy of posterity. Flattery loves the deceit her- 
self, and so rejoices to pass it along to her children ; though 
her own people accuse each other mutually, though they 
live basely in fact, yet their lives as pictured by the para- 
sites, are the very images of virtue. Hence it is that many 



194 Christianopolis 

consider the biographies of the elders somewhat doubtfully, 
when they see that they stand forth from the pens of the 
authors on a slippery footing. The frankness of just one 
man, Thanus, received the applause of the public ; but though 
one may praise, he is hardly permitted to imitate. If anyone 
would attempt the same thing among his own people, he 
would be flogged. Men are so base that though they do not 
at all revere the sight of God, yet they themselves can 
hardly bear to look upon their likenesses represented accord- 
ing to life, nor to expose them to the view of posterity. 



XLII. 

PRINTING. 

Next to this is situated the printing shop, the home of an 
invention that has proved itself for both the advantage and 
the disadvantage of our age ; in this place at least it is harm- 
less. For beyond the Holy Scriptures and those books which 
instruct the youth and aid the devotion of the citizens, little 
printing is done. Private copies of the Bible are owned by 
individuals in their own language, as are also principles of 
confession, books of hymns and prayers, and such other 
documents as make for piety. Whatever inquiries benefit 
the school, are printed in great numbers so that they may 
serve Christian boyhood. Scattering literature which ex- 
presses doubt concerning God, which corrupts the morals 
or imposes upon man's mind is not permitted. To whatever 
extent printing presses are defended elsewhere, they never- 
theless err to the limit; for though everyone's curiosity is 
satisfied, one's own ambition and the purse of the printer, yet 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 195 

no concern is felt for God, or the harm to one's neighbor. 
How many vast volumes of nothingness, what a mass of lies 
and fallacies are accumulated in the twofold output of the 
year! One is surprised that there are men who can read 
through even the titles. For these are the fruits of a 
learned, boastful age, that the wise and the unwise, side by 
side and publicly, trifle with such an abundance of produc- 
tions, and think that unless someone has placed their name 
in the public market catalogue, it is all up with literature and 
religion. For nothing can be collected so foolishly, invented 
so tastelessly, described so crudely, presented so uselessly 
but the bookshops will keep it. 



XLIII. 

THE treasury. 

Adjoining the armory is the treasury; this has no use 
at all among the citizens, but is not to be scorned in its 
relation to foreigners. No one would believe what an 
amount of coined gold and silver there is here in stock; 
with it they may pay tribute to Caesar, support mercenaries 
when it becomes necessary, trade with foreigners, give to 
strangers, and support their industries. Whatever has 
money value, they think has least value ; what has been pur- 
chased with blood, has the greatest value. The inscriptions 
on the coins are, on the one side, // God Be with Us Who 
Can Be Against Us, and on the other side. The Word of the 
Lord Endures Forever. The former face bears the repre- 
sentation of an eagle with a cross athwart; the latter, their 
city resting on a book. And so, money which weakens every 



196 Christianopolis 

other part of the world, lies here unnoticed and of no fur- 
ther value except for its usefulness ; and it has no need of 
an especial guard, since no one in the republic can use it. 
So here men are served without injury by that which among 
others is injurious and insuppressible, more than all dragons 
and monsters. To money is due public corruption; with it 
the heavens are sold, the soul is fettered, the body bound, 
hell bought. Whatever sin is committed is attributed to 
money and not unjustly, when men accuse themselves before 
having been caught by so very cheap a thing. How easily 
bought is the human race which has sold its Christian lib- 
erty to Antichrist, its natural liberty to tyranny, and its 
human liberty to sophistry; and has surrendered its 
wretched efforts for the cheapest return : superstition, servi- 
tude, and ignorance! 



XLIV. 

THE LABORATORY. 

Behind the treasury is the laboratory, dedicated to 
chemical science and fitted out with most ingenious ovens 
and with contrivances for uniting and dissolving substances. 
No one here need fear because of the mockery, falseness, 
or falsehoods of impostors; but let one imagine a most 
careful attendant of nature. Here the properties of metals, 
minerals, and vegetables, and even the life of animals are 
examined, purified, increased, and united, for the use of 
the human race and in the interests of health. Here the 
sky and the earth are married together; divine mysteries 
impressed upon the land are discovered; here men learn to 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 197 

regulate fire, make use of the air, value the water, and test 
earth. Here the ape of nature has wherewith it may play, 
while it emulates her principles and so by the traces of the 
large mechanism forms another, minute and most exquisite. 
Whatever has been dug out and extracted from the bowels 
of nature by the industry of the ancients, is here subjected 
to close examination, that we may know whether nature has 
been truly and faithfully opened to us. Truly that is a 
humane and generous undertaking, which all who are true 
human beings deservedly favor. Others, on account of the 
wickedness of too many or angered by their unhappiness, 
refuse with foolish haughtiness every investigation of na- 
ture and examination of human reason, considering them- 
selves sufficiently wise when they make attempts at the most 
ingenious art, with one or the other form of mockery, and 
do not at all remember how infinitely many things they 
accept and believe only because they have been marked 
down and mentioned to them; how carelessly they spurn 
the most evident gifts and remedies of nature, and yet 
obey the most ridiculous tales of peddlers and quacks. I 
have transgressed, I suppose, against the haughtiness of 
many, and against the prejudice of many; but they will 
grant me their forgiveness when they hear that I did not 
exercise this art but only watched it ; and being of courteous 
nature, I interpreted it more kindly and advantageously. 



198 Christianopolis 

XLV. 

THE DRUG SUPPLY HOUSE. 

Outside the gate now, stands the pharmacy, and no place 
in the world has a more carefully selected collection. For 
inasmuch as the citizens have a strong inclination toward 
the natural sciences, this pharmacy is for them a veritable 
miniature of all nature. Whatsoever the elements offer, 
whatever art improves, whatever all creatures furnish, it is 
all brought to this place, not only for the cause of health, 
but also with a view toward the advancement of education 
in general. For how can the division of human matters be 
accomplished more easily than where one observes the most 
skillful classification, together with the greatest variety! 
This is a very liberal conception, though contrary to the 
accepted school, and it is entirely inseparable from literature. 
For what a narrow thing is human knowledge if it walks 
about as a stranger in the most wholesome creations and 
does not know what advantage this or that thing bears to 
man, yet meanwhile wanders about in the unpleasant crackle 
of abstractions and rules, none the less boasting of this as 
a science of the highest order! It should rather be the 
aim, after something has been accomplished with that 
theory, to prove its practical value to men ; after the nomen- 
clature of things, to recognize also the things themselveSo 
Shall theory be so needy that after receiving the precepts 
of the arts, she should make no attempt at the accomplish- 
ment of anything and in the very profession of scholarli- 
ness, should consult those who are unlearned? There is 
enough of our life, if it is spent economically, that we may 
obtain the best things far more easily than the worst. There 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 199 

is more vexation and irksome labor in the foolishness with 
which men wear out their powers, than in those things 
which can raise them aloft and admit them to a contempla- 
tion of our earth. So they are whirled around and whirl 
others about in a perpetual maelstrom — in irrevocable in- 
famy. 



XLVL 

ANATOMY. 

They have also a place given over to anatomy, that is, 
the dissecting of animals, because nothing is so nearly a 
miracle as the workshop of the bodies of living things, and 
especially of man, who may be called a miniature example, 
an epitome, of the whole world. The value of ascertaining 
the location of the organs and of assisting the struggles of 
nature no one would deny, unless he desires to be as igno- 
rant of himself as are the barbarians. And yet there are 
some persons, even among the educated, who do not know 
where they live, feel, breathe, digest, or discharge, ex- 
cept that they think these functions are performed some- 
where within their skins. For them, right differs very little 
from left, or lowest from highest. The inhabitants of Chris- 
tianopolis teach their youth the operations of life and the 
various organs, from the parts of the physical body. They 
show them the wonderful structure of the bones, for which 
purpose they have not a few skeletons and of the required 
variety. Meantime they also show the anatomy of the hu- 
man body, but more rarely because the rather sensitive 
human mind recoils from a contemplation of our own suf- 
ferings. Let us, therefore, lament the fact that our little 



200 Christianopolis 

dwelling so carefully formed, snatched from so many dan- 
gers, and not a few times clad more delicately than damage 
to life warranted, should end by passing into such a state of 
foulness and horror. But even as the origin of our life is a 
thing to blush at, so the rapidity of our dying has its cause 
of shame with equal merit. Meantime we do hardly find 
the number of our diseases, nay even, we rarely compute 
all the afflictions of one member of the human body. Let 
us then praise our Christ who, though clad in the same flesh 
as we, obtained for us the ability of sometime being able 
to take up again our decaying bodies, purified and refined. 
In consideration of this we will bear the grievous burden of 
the flesh, readily and willingly, wherever it pleases Him ; we 
will give over all our members to God ; we will dedicate 
them to His service and will freely return them to Him when 
He demands them. 



XLVII. 

THE NATURAL SCIENCE LABORATORY. 

Upon this follows the hall of physics, and this cannot be 
too elegantly described. For natural history is here seen 
painted on the walls in detail and with the greatest skill. 
The phenomena in the sky, views of the earth in different 
regions, the different races of men, representations of ani- 
mals, forms of growing things, classes of stones and gems 
are not only on hand and named, but they even teach and 
make known their natures and qualities. Here you may see 
the forces of agreement and of opposition; you may see 
poisons and antidotes ; you may see things beneficial and in- 
jurious to the several organs of man's body. When I have 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 201 

mentioned these things, it is all of no value unless you shall 
see everything before your eyes. For if you should wish to 
examine only those cases even, in which the rare, freakish, 
and unusual specimens of nature are kept, there would be 
no end. Truly, is not recognition of things of the earth 
much easier if a competent demonstrator and illus- 
trative material are at hand and if there is some guide 
to the memory? For instruction enters altogether more 
easily through the eyes than through the ears, and 
much more pleasantly in the presence of refinement than 
among the base. They are deceived who think that 
it is impossible to teach except in dark caves and with a 
gloomy brow. A liberal-minded man is never so keen as 
when he has his instructors on confidential terms. To what 
shall we attribute it that we see many professing natural 
science who hesitate when placed face to face with some little 
herb, unless we suspect that they have never been admitted 
to this very pleasant view of nature? If these people should 
hear citizens of Christianopolis or even boys at their play 
recognizing, naming, and investigating according to their 
characteristic marks and signs thousands of herbs, classify- 
ing them with respect to diseases, they would blush per- 
haps, or, what is more to the purpose, they would never 
leave this auditorium unless they left it instructed with a 
broader knowledge of nature. 



202 Christianopolis 

XLVIIL 

PAINTING AND PICTURES. 

Opposite the pharmacy is a very roomy shop for pictorial 
art, an art in which this city takes the greatest delight. For 
the city, besides being decorated all over with pictures repre- 
senting the various phases of the earth, makes use of them 
especially in the instruction of the youth and for rendering 
learning more easy. Ajid so the individual rooms have pic- 
tures adapted to them, and they thus advise the youth of the 
things pertaining thereto. Besides, pictures and statues of 
famous men, with their manly and ingenious deeds, are to 
be seen everywhere, an incentive of no mean value to the 
youth for striving to imitate their virtue. But they are 
seriously commanded to observe purity, this being taken, I 
believe, as a result of the audacity and impurity of the world, 
which poisons the eyes of the innocent with impure pic- 
tures. The divisions of this art, or rather the comrades, 
are architecture, perspective, methods of pitching and forti- 
fying camps, and even sketches of machines and statistics. 
Whatever of the dramatic spiritual things have, or what- 
ever else there may be like literary elegance, it can all be 
seen here, purposely prepared for scholars. The very time, 
which these people spend with a view toward this learned 
enjoyment, others waste oftentimes in dice, chess, or in other 
still more foolish games ; from these, the latter get the fol- 
lowing wonderful use : that for examining into matters and 
explaining them to other people they have no knowledge 
at all, but they gaze in useless wonder. How much more 
happily the others practice with the brush, so that wherever 
they enter, they bring along their experienced eyes, their 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 203 

hands adapted to imitation, and what is of greater impor- 
tance, a judgment equal to and already trained for things, 
not unfruitful or mean. At the same time also the beauty 
of forms is so pleasing to them that they embrace with a 
whole heart the inner beauty of virtue itself and the ele- 
gance of a Christian life. 



XLIX. 

mathematical instruments. 

Adjoining this workshop is an excavated place for 
mathematical instruments, a testimony of human acuteness 
and energy against our mortal chains. For though the sky 
is so far distant from us and the wings of our original per- 
fection are wanting, yet we are not willing that anything 
should take place there without our knowledge. Hence we 
determine the ways of the stars with a number of mechanical 
devices, and mark them down, to such a degree of accuracy 
that it is surprising that man could have enough patience 
and perseverance to enter upon such theories. I will not 
enumerate the instruments here, inasmuch as nearly all of 
them are understood from the description of the most emi- 
nent Tycho Brahe.^ A very few have been added, and 
among these is the very valuable telescope recently invented. 
The instruments which serve the purpose of geometry are 
here, and a great number of the common ones which aid the 
efiforts of students. But why do I rehearse these facts, as 
if I did not know how useless all ingenious implements 
seem to the masses who make an effort not to be able to use 
any mathematical instrument! They betray themselves by 

^ Danish astronomer, 1546-1601. 



204 Christianopolis 

this very fact, in that they throw aside half of learning, and 
though born for practical human affairs, render themselves 
useless. Therefore, until those who profess to be broadly 
educated without mathematics shall return into her favor, 
I shall not believe nor will I bear witness that they are really 
educated ; I will pronounce them only half educated, and 
they shall bear testimony to this accusation against them- 
selves whenever they shall suffer themselves to be led forth 
upon the forum of human sciences. When then they shall 
recognize the value of the instruments of the liberal arts and 
the profits of computation, and shall skillfully apply them, 
they should be honored. If like strangers in a foreign land 
they shall bring to humanity no assistance or counsel or 
judgment or device, then I think they deserve to be con- 
temned and classed with the tenders of sheep, cattle, and 
hogs. 

L. 

THE MATHEMATICS LABORATORY. 

Finally, to hasten on, I saw also the neighboring hall of 
mathematics, remarkable for its diagrams of the heavens, 
as the hall of physics is for its diagrams of the earth. 
Here was represented graphically the primary motion as 
well as those motions derived from it. A chart of the star- 
studded heavens and a reproduction of the whole shining 
host above were shown. Whether one cared to see the 
hemisphere convex, concave, or flattened ; the particular and 
accurate figures of individual stars ; the harmony of the 
heavenly bodies and their mutual, admirable proportions; 
geographical charts of the earth; different illustrations 
representing tools and machines, small models, figures of 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 205 

geometry; instruments of mechanical arts, drawn, named, 
and explained — of all these, nothing was left to be desired. 
There an opportunity was given to make accurate observa- 
tions of the positions of heavenly bodies and, a more recent 
development, observations of the spots on the stars, all made 
known with incredible care and with an acuteness more 
than human. Here one's eyes could feed, that is, the eyes of 
the learned ; here were illustrations for short cuts in memo- 
rizing. Assuredly when I had observed all these things, 
I gradually came to be less surprised at the wonderful learn- 
ing of these people, seeing that it had such mechanical as- 
sistance. Generally in the world, though all other things 
are lavishly spent, no assistance (none at least to speak 
of) is provided for the youth; on the contrary the students 
are compelled to struggle with difficulties. If perchance 
some one of them should break through safely, he has little 
interest as to how he may draw anyone else out. Nay, if 
there is advantage to himself in so doing, he blocks the 
advances of the one struggling to follow, with new dams 
and new stones. So expenses are made a boast without 
practical results, arts without instruction, learning without 
books, charity without a kindly feeling, in short, a drilling- 
ground for a good mind with no desirable exercises. 



LI. 

the departments of learning. 

When I had been conducted from this place to a higher 
floor, I saw a school, roomy and beautiful beyond expecta- 
tion, divided into eight lecture halls where the youths, the 



2o6 Christianopolis 

most valuable asset of the republic, are molded and trained 
to God, nature, reason, and public safety. For if injunctions 
are given to individuals to bring up their children excel- 
lently, vi^hy should they not do the same for the common- 
v^ealth that the best method of education and instruction 
be entered in upon? For this most important of all duties 
they have furnished this very elaborate place, that they 
might thus declare their love and care for these, their chil- 
dren of greatest promise, and that they might, as it were, 
merit future happiness in advance. All this is not after 
the infamous example of the world. For when the world 
seems to love her children most of all, she often shuts 
them up in some out of the way, unhealthy, and even dirty 
prison, where they are brought into contact with filth and 
become accustomed to such jails. Here all is open, sunny, 
and happy, so that with the sight of pictures, even, they at- 
tract the children, fashion the minds of the boys and girls, 
and advise the youths. They are not baked in summer nor 
frozen in winter ; they are not disturbed by noise nor fright- 
ened because of loneliness. Whatever is elsewhere given 
over to luxury and leisure of palaces, is here devoted to 
honorable recreation and pursuits, an investment that is 
nowhere more satisfactory or better paying. For even as 
the earth when well cultivated returns with interest what 
has been intrusted to it, so youth when steeped in the life- 
blood of the republic and impelled to a joyous harvest, pays 
back everything with usury. This is the summit of happi- 
ness, to be able with one and the same effort to preserve the 
safety of the republic and the adjustment of the future 
life, so that the children which we bear here, we may find 
to our satisfaction have been born for the heavens as much 
as for the earth. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 207 

LII. 

the teachers. 

Their instructors are not men from the dregs of human 
society nor such as are useless for other occupations, but 
the choice of all the citizens, persons whose standing in the 
republic is known and who very often have access to the 
highest positions in the state. For surely, no one can 
properly take care of the youth, unless he is also able to 
discharge the duties of state; and he who succeeds with 
the youth, has thereby already established his right to serve 
in governmental affairs. The teachers are well advanced 
in years, and they are especially remarkable for their pur- 
suit of four virtues : dignity, integrity, activity, and gen- 
erosity. For if they are not successful with their scholars 
and disciples and are not highly valued by the public; 
if they do not excel others in reverence toward God, up- 
rightness toward their neighbor, and in firmness and modera- 
tion in their own lives, and are not an example in virtue ; if 
they do not give evidence of skill, wisdom, and the highest 
power of judgment for instruction and education, as well 
as a recognition of crises in the natures of their puj)ils ; 
if they do not prefer to spur their charges on as free agents 
with kindness, courteous treatment, and a liberal discipline 
rather than with threats, blows, and like sternness ; if 
these are not their ideals as instructors, then the citizens 
of Christianopolis do not deem them worthy of organizing 
this miniature republic, the successor of the greater, nor 
of being intrusted with the very substance of their future 
safety. As they succeed so well in keeping up a condition 
at all times resembling a state government, they can with 



2o8 Christianopolis 

good grace warn others, not lightly to expose the very valu- 
able, supple, and active youth to the vilest, most vicious, 
insipid, and coarsest men, merely because such may be had 
more cheaply. Under such care children are brought up to 
waste their parents* goods, not by measures but by whole 
bins; and perhaps later on they in turn leave behind them 
children even worse than themselves. 



LIIL 



THE PUPILS. 

Now it will be well to mention who the pupils are and 
of what sort. All the children of citizens in general, chil- 
dren of both sexes, are taken into training. When they 
have completed their sixth year, the parents give them over 
to the state, not without prayers and pious vows. The pupils 
are divided into three classes : the children, the youth, 
and the mature. Here they eat and sleep, and receive men- 
tal and physical training. The more numerous their off- 
spring, the happier the parents are, for they then lack noth- 
ing; from this one fact it can be seen how unrestrictedly 
the citizens live. No parent gives closer or more careful 
attention to his children than is given here, for the most 
upright preceptors, men as well as women, are placed over 
them. Moreover, they can visit their children, even un- 
seen by them, as often as they have leisure. As this is an 
institution for the public good, it is managed very agreeably 
as a common charge for all the citizens. They see to it 
carefully that the food is appetizing and wholesome, that 
the couches and beds are clean and comfortable, and that 
the clothes and attire of the whole body are clean. The 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 209 

pupils wash often and use linen towels for drying. The hair 
is also combed to prevent anything unclean from collecting. 
If diseases of the skin or body are contracted, the individuals 
in question are cared for in good time; and to avoid the 
spreading of the infection, they are quarantined. They do 
these things as diligently as the world attends to its duties 
neglectfully. For there is no need of my mentioning here 
the dirtiness of the schools, the uncleanness of food and 
beds, and the rudeness of those in charge toward the 
scholars ; inasmuch as those who have suffered these in- 
dignities bear witness not so much with cries and com- 
plaints, as with bodies feeble throughout all life, for this 
very reason. 



LIV. 

THE NATURE OF INSTRUCTION. 

Their first and highest exertion is to worship God with a 
pure and faithful soul ; the second, to strive toward the best 
and most chaste morals ; the third, to cultivate the mental 
powers — an order, reversed by the world, if any thought of 
God still remains among the inhabitants of the latter. More- 
over, they feel themselves dedicated to God, by the law of 
their birth into this world, as well as by the agency of their 
parents. They begin their study not with some absurd 
deposition, that is, some prelude of foolishness, but with 
earnest prayers. From this they proceed through the fixed 
stages of those beginning, those advancing, and those who 
have completed the course, with high-sounding titles, it is 
true ; but they unlearn these easily on growing more mature. 
The titles are a great incentive to the degrees, as a noble 



2IO Christianopolis 

mind is raised by praise while it is stimulated by a slight 
disgrace. There is need of strict uprightness on the part 
of those who give the titles, lest while they are thus play- 
ing, they should haply trifle with the youth. This is where 
much wrong is done in other places, and all the more so be- 
cause it is not without gain and loss. For to accept pay and 
to sell the ignorant to the state, is certainly not just. Pun- 
ishments are inflicted with fasting and work ; if there is need, 
with whipping ; in extreme cases, though rarely, by imprison- 
ment. The young men have their study periods in the 
morning, the girls in the afternoon ; and matrons as well as 
learned men are their instructors. I do not know why this 
sex, which is naturally no less teachable, is elsewhere ex- 
cluded from literature. The rest of their time is devoted 
to manual training and domestic art and science, as each 
one's occupation is assigned according to his natural in- 
clination. When they have vacant time, they are permitted 
to engage in honorable physical exercises either in the open 
spaces of the town or in the field. Here they may contest 
in running or wrestling, they may play ball, or even exercise 
with weapons ; or, if they are old enough, they may break 
horses. You will approve of all these, if you do not for- 
get that moderation and careful supervision are required in 
everything. 



LV. 

GRAMMAR, THE FIRST DEPARTMENT. 

Now we will examine the schools of the arts, they being 
also divided into three sections in accordance with the age 
of the pupils. The first is the school of grammar and Ian- 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 211 

guages. There, after the requirements of devotion, prayer, 
and singing have been satisfied, and sacred as v^ell as other 
wise sayings that tend toward virtue have been spoken, the 
work of the boys consists in learning to name all sorts of 
things and actions in the three languages, Hebrew, Greek, 
and Latin ; in being able to repeat them in classes, inflecting 
them in the comparisons, cases, tenses, proper persons, and 
numbers; finally in joining them and defining them with 
modifiers. Here they see to it that what they read, they 
actually understand, and what they do not understand, they 
translate into their native tongue. What audacity it is to 
teach a boy anything at all comprehensive in Latin, when 
he does not know what you wish or what he is expected to 
do ; with the same effort and profit you might improve his 
memory in some other foreign language ! And how incon- 
siderate it is to expect any translations into Latin from the 
mother tongue before the boy knows what Latin is ! They 
are careful too, that they may not overload delicate, fragile 
natures with too great a variety or amount of studies, as 
it is but too certain that immature keenness of mind can 
be most easily dulled in this way so that the mind will be 
permanently unsettled. They are foolish who conceive ex- 
travagant hopes out of the precocity of childhood, and even 
further these hopes, when generally such a condition ends 
in dullness. They want firmly-rooted natures and they ob- 
tain these through liberal recreation ; in this way the memory 
is strengthened, power of judgment is drawn forth, indi- 
vidual frankness is fostered, and work is gradually adapted 
to the talents. 



212 Christianopolis 

LVI. 

ORATORY. 

The more mature students are taught oratory in this 
same school, where they learn to refute all sorts of argu- 
ments in accordance with the rules of the art, and to adorn 
their speeches with little flowers of elegance. Much stress 
is laid upon natural force, less upon artificial form; and so 
he who is able to further the former, is the best instructor 
for the youth in oratory. Without nature, art is something 
barren and shows more traces of painstaking than of actual 
talent. So, oftentimes good theorists in oratory are poor 
speakers, inasmuch as in life they desire to seem broad be- 
cause of their natural ability. However, if speech is an 
indication of the thought, it is easily evident why at times 
language does not flow fluently from the tongue. Yet there 
are some people, for the most part foolish men, who hope 
to rise through mere imitation, — foolish, for as they destroy 
their own chances and do not reach others, nothing can be 
quite as split up, rough, and out of place. The thing needed 
here is native, inborn sense, and a husbanding of whatever 
peculiar talent God has granted. For there is no master 
more perfect in eloquence than He who made the language. 
An admirable instance of this is found in the Holy Scrip- 
tures, which do not merely buffet the ears of men, but pene- 
trate the very heart. In this there is no need of exaggera- 
tion or of any other extreme foreign form. If one speaks 
truthfully, modestly, and heartily, he has outdone Cicero in 
eloquence. To speak briefly, whatever breathes the spirit, 
will have tremendous effect ; whatever smacks of artificiality 
will be powerless. He has accomplished much who has 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 213 

acquired a taste for God's style; for what fools consider 
simpleness is nothing other than wisdom. As soon as the 
orators of the world have ceased talking, the lifeless sound 
and the elegant form of the words have already escaped; 
whereas the soul remains unsatisfied. When divine truth 
calls to us in oratory, the heart glows, the spirit is stirred, 
one's whole nature becomes active. They should hear these 
words who are too much satisfied with themselves, as often 
as they speak without God, nay, even as they confess, with 
their gods — they who despise Christ to such an extent that 
they prefer in their speeches any idol, any demon to the holy 
mysteries of Christianity. Meanwhile they lay claim to all 
elegance of expression in themselves and are sufficiently 
talkative if the world demands such; but it is to be feared 
that the same parties will be speechless before the tribunal 
of Christ. 



LVII. 

THE VARIOUS LANGUAGES. 

Those who are of sufficient age give their attention also 
to various modern languages ; not merely for the sake of 
knowing more, but that they may be able to communicate with 
many peoples of the earth — the dead as well as the living; 
and that they may not be compelled to put faith in every sup- 
posed scholar. Learning a language is very easy for them, 
though other people get so confused. For if they do not 
acquire fluent use of one language in a year, they think they 
have accomplished nothing; whereas if other people do not 
devote ten years to the same task they seem greedy of 
time. They say that nomenclature is most important, and 



214 Christianopolis 

that a little grammatical study is needed in addition. They 
begin with easy reading related to a subject already known. 
One would hardly believe what an advantage the study of 
cognates is in learning a language. Memorizing and re- 
peated use do the rest. I grieved when I recalled with what 
disputes I was driven to study so that I did not know what 
I was doing. Here I learned as if in play, a fact I hardly 
dare mention lest I awaken envy. Yet I must not omit say- 
ing that I learned to consider of comparatively small value 
the study of languages along with that of literature in gen- 
eral; not that we should throw it all overboard, but that 
we should not value such study beyond its use. For he is 
not necessarily wise who speaks in this or the other lan- 
guage, but he who speaks with God. If righteousness and 
honesty are at hand, it matters little in what tongue they 
are spoken ; if they are absent, it is of no advantage whether 
one goes astray speaking Greek or Latin. Too easily per- 
suaded are they who attribute to the Latin language the 
power of making them better educated, rather than to the 
German. But the Latin language must be preserved because 
it is in itself valuable in a good many ways, and also be- 
cause it is biting, and unsympathetic with every trivial con- 
tradiction. Then it has what may reproach me, a man woe- 
fully untaught in its use, intolerant of its civilization, out 
of sympathy with its fastidiousness, or, as it itself is wont 
to insist, barbarous. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 215 
LVIII. 

LOGIC, THE SECOND DEPARTMENT. 

The second school is called that of logic, being named 
after one of the noblest of arts. Here the boys, when they 
have already made some progress, learn to apply the instru- 
ments of method to every variety of human affairs, to 
classify whatever is given them, then to form a syllogism that 
they may see what is necessarily true, what is possible, and 
where some fallacy of judgment lurks. Here truth has an 
especial standard by which it may be tested; but as it is 
rather unpolished, some people from among the proud 
have applied it carelessly, not to say faithlessly to divine 
truth. And this is that Helen, for whose sake the Greeks 
raised such a tumult, and the Trojans perished. She is 
beautiful, it is true, but she bears herself all too rudely 
above her surroundings and tramples her equally deserving 
sisters under foot. One feels like laughing at those who, 
while they possess this instrument, think they need nothing 
else, though they lack everything. But they have horns — let 
them use them ! No skilled workman boasts of his sun-dial 
pin or his plumb-line alone, unless there is something of his 
own work on hand to exhibit. These sophists, when they 
have proved that man is capable of laughing, that the sun 
has been obscured, or the equality of two angles of a triangle, 
sing their own praises as if something had been especially 
well done ; and then they rest leisurely for all time to come. 
Very differently do those, who provide themselves with all 
sorts of arts, love to arrange them rationally and in orderly 
manner, and when there is need, draw them forth one at 
a time from their several places. This they recognize as 



2i6 Christianopolis 

the chief good of logic; they do not subject all things to 
it — especially not God. They incite their talented men to 
recognize what reason has been intrusted to them and to 
test their own judgment of things lest they find it necessary 
to seek everything outside of themselves and to bring in the 
theories from without. For man has within him a great 
treasure of judging if he prefers to dig it up instead of 
burying it with mounds and weight of precepts. Yet this is 
surely the very kernel of all reason, to listen to God obedi- 
ently who is as far from all falseness and counterfeit as He 
is always closely joined to the truth. Let us in truth love 
the true. Let us not seek a reason from Him who is 
above all reason. 



LIX. 

METAPHYSICS. 

In this place others hear lectures on metaphysical sci- 
ence, which withdraws from everything concrete, and soars 
aloft to the first beginnings of creation, a science indeed 
worthy of a man whose natural bent takes him from earthly 
things. Here they look at the true, the good, the beautiful, 
unity, order, and the like, all the more successfully because 
they have divine light in addition. Where philosophers have 
groped in darkness, they consult the divine sun and ascend 
to the known God, who was unknown to the pagans. More- 
over it would be surprising if a man who has traveled men- 
tally so far that he can differentiate between elements and 
things, should return so basely to his own body and should 
wallow with it in all sorts of filth; or that one who could 
see the true vision of the good and the beautiful, should be 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 217 

caught and deceived so easily by the false, the evil, and the 
misshapen. It appears, however, that a slippery place is 
found wherever man goes out of himself and that he falls 
staggering. And so, he would stand most firmly grounded in 
one true and good God, who would deliver to Him a soul 
stripped of the garments of the flesh. Such a one shall hear 
things that cannot be related, and he shall behold the uni- 
verse, as it was created in the original perfection, in a sky, 
not darkened nor yet overcolored but clear as crystal. So 
with the greatest delight on his own part, and with no 
little admiration of others, he will understand the first lines 
of art and the first points of things. This true beauty, while 
it is unknown to many, produces in them a nausea for this 
world and leaves the body itself unattractive because of a 
number of imperfections and the heaviest burdens of the 
earth. Thus, persistently and eagerly the citizens of Chris- 
tianopolis are in this hall that they may acquire the ability 
to leave themselves and learn to withdraw from earthly mat- 
ters. By this means they find themselves again, and receive 
far nobler qualities with interest. 



LX. 

THEOSOPHY. 

This same hall serves also for the study of something still 
higher, and this is theosophy, a science which does not 
recognize any human invention or research, but which owes 
its whole existence to God. Where nature ends, this begins ; 
and, taught by the highest divinity, it preserves its sacred 
mysteries religiously. Few men, even among the most faith- 



2i8 Christianopolis 

ful, may embrace theosophy, for it is only God who can 
work benefits, with His light or with the cross. God re- 
veals Himself in a moment; He keeps Himself long within 
His shrines ; He is always the best, though rarely seen ; yet 
His infinite works have been revealed and in them every 
true Christian may rejoice. We are without foresight who 
prefer Aristotle, who value this insignificant little man and 
not the wonderful works of God, which put him to shame. 
He never could nor did he wish to believe the fiat of God, 
the service of the angels, the spirit of fire, the density of 
water, the pressure of the atmosphere, the raising up of the 
earth, the immortality of man, the voice of the dumb ani- 
mal, the inertia of the sun, the bounds of the earth; yet 
these are all established facts with us. If we would but 
give ear to God, far greater wonders than these have been 
set forth at His throne. Why should we not listen to Him, 
when His very smallest single act deserves all faith with us, 
and is invincible ? If we believe one miracle, we must accept 
all which He offers us ; for how can we distinguish between 
the works of Omnipotence? So this school is one of 
humility and obedience, where young minds learn to sub- 
mit to the words of God and in His secrets rather to apply 
a devout silence than unseemly inquisitiveness. Let philos- 
ophy worry as it will ; theosophy rests easily. Let her con- 
tradict, theosophy will give thanks. When the other hesi- 
tates, this one sits securely at the feet of Christ. Happy is 
the man who rises at the first call of God ; happier he who 
follows ; and happiest who never once looks back, but con- 
tinually presses on. This is the chief thing in the prayers 
and desires of a holy man : if God is pleased, it is well ; if 
He wishes us exercised and crushed because of the weakness 
of our flesh, God's will be done. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 219 

LXI. 

arithmetic, the third department. 

The third hall is named for arithmetic, the very home 
of all subtleness. He who is One and Three has endowed 
this with infinite riches. If you consider human need there 
is no branch of knowledge to which this does not bear 
some help of first importance. If you consider the under- 
takings of man's mind, you will discover that man struggles 
almost with infinity, in this one direction, and worms his 
way far into the secrets of progression. I am disposed to 
say that a man who does not know arithmetic is ignorant 
of a great deal. Hence, this study is pursued by the in- 
habitants of Christianopolis with the greatest perseverance, 
and every day they find in it something to admire, some- 
thing which sharpens their wits and lessens their labors. 
In algebra they have no equals, because it calls forth all 
the powers of man, treats physical units in an entirely 
unique manner, and solves the most intricate problems with 
incredible keenness. But they do not forget what an effort 
it requires to untie the snares set by Satan, when even 
human skill can involve one so far; what power of com- 
puting would be needed to unravel the riddles of the world, 
what need of examination to explain the impossibilities of 
the flesh, when so much labor is expended in tracing the 
principles and sources of an art ! Even though they strive 
after nothing at all more lofty, yet they think that such per- 
sons should not be tolerated who, out of pure laziness, de- 
prive themselves of a convenience in computing and so 
variously applicable a short method in problems. And if 
they should hear that there are among human beings such 



220 Christianopolis 

as these, who nevertheless boast of their learning, I doubt 
if they could refrain from giving some offense. For among 
them it is evident that they do not permit their citizens 
to be ignorant of all these arts and yet strut about as 
office-holders. If among people of the other type it shall 
begin to be proper to have real knov^ledge, and this knowl- 
edge be applied to doing things, zealous talent, I imagine, 
will not be wanting to many, nor will fortune desert them. 
Meanwhile we will regard those as generous who, though 
they do not actually favor the arts, at least do not persecute 
them with extreme hatred. 



LXII. 

GEOMETRY. 

The next in order are those who study geometry, the 
own sister of arithmetic, a science which expresses in lines 
what arithmetic does in numbers. Hence it adapts itself 
especially to human wants and applies the deepest proposi- 
tions and theorems to practical matters with admirable dili- 
gence. For geometry measures not only the dimensions 
which are near at hand, as the top or the bottom, nor merely 
regular shapes, but all figures besides. It passes through 
them, changes, balances, transfers, raises, and plays a most 
elegant part in all human labors. If one desires theoretical 
research, nothing is more subtle; if one desires to apply 
practical problems, nothing is more convenient or rapid. 
If you intrust to it any talent, the same is returned nimble 
and applicable to anything. Hence, the inhabitants of 
Christianopolis set much store by it, since they see that there 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 221 

is no art which is not rendered easier by it, and that man 
becomes more expert for taking up such arts. Among the 
thoughtless this art becomes worthless even as all the rest of 
mathematics. It is very evident, however, that they pay 
the penalty for it, in that they have to exert themselves more 
in their labors, and even watch other people's short cuts 
with tearful eyes. Why should it be surprising that geom- 
etry is neglected when intrigue, avarice, gluttony, vice, and 
wrath, yea even stupidity and rashness, have no measure and 
will tolerate none? The citizens of Christianopolis, while 
they measure various things, first of all make an especial 
effort to measure and weigh themselves, then also to value 
the goodness of God. For it is not of so much importance 
for us to know the acreage of our little fields, as the meager- 
ness of our little bodies, the narrowness of the grave, and 
the comparative insignificance of the whole earth. In this 
way the vanity of our brain will most easily contract, and 
the swelling of our heart will subside. This will help render 
man forgetful of himself, patient in misfortune, apprecia- 
tive of God, and mindful of future death that we may prefer 
to grow in value, rather than that we be brought from our 
former state of little value, to nothing by an angry God. 



LXIII. 

MYSTIC NUMBERS. 

Those who are older rise even higher. God has His 
numbers and measures, and it is fitting that man should 
regard them. Surely that supreme Architect did not make 
this mighty mechanism haphazard, but He completed it 



222 ChRISTIANOPOLIS 

most wisely by measures, numbers, and proportions, and He 
added to it the element of time, distinguished by a wonderful 
harmony. His mysteries has He placed especially in His 
workshops and typical buildings, that with the key of David 
we may reveal the length, breadth, and depth of divinity, find 
and note down the Messiah present in all things, who unites 
all in a wonderful harmony and conducts all wisely and 
powerfully, and that we may take our delight in adoring the 
name of Jesus. Moreover, these matters are not understood 
through any human skill, but rest upon revelation and are 
communicated to the faithful and from one to the other. 
Therefore they walk into a veritable labyrinth whosoever 
borrow poles and compasses from human philosophy with 
which to measure the New Jerusalem, figure out its^ regis- 
ters and sacred computation, or fortify it against the enemy. 
Let it be sufficient for us that Christ has made plain to 
us all the means which strive to improve and support life; 
let us all be careful not to approach too hastily everything 
that glistens, unless the figure of Christ is evident and 
beckons us into the hidden inner parts. This over-confidence 
has deceived some of the greatest men, and all the more 
contrary to expectation, because it seemed to them that they 
were not speaking without inspiration. In this cabala it is 
advisable to be rather circumspect, since we have consider- 
able difficulty in present matters, grope in events of the 
past^ and since God has reserved the future for Himself, re- 
vealing it to a very limited number of individuals and then 
only at the greatest intervals. Let us then love the secrets 
of God which are made plain to us and let us not, with the 
rabble, throw away that which is above us nor consider 
divine things on an equal basis with human; since God is 
good in all things, but in His own, even admirable. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 223 
LXIV. 

MUSIC, THE FOURTH DEPARTMENT. 

The fourth school is spoken of as that of music, and one 
cannot enter it unless one has had arithmetic and geometry ; 
for it depends to a considerable extent upon measure and 
number. Here again man has given a specimen of his 
excellence, inasmuch as he multiplies three tones with limit- 
less variety; so that he excels not only in language but 
even in the cries of animals and in the songs of birds. 
He even vies v^ith heaven, where there is always melody. 
It can never be computed what trivial things man turns to 
the highest uses. With very few letters he speaks so many 
tens of thousands of words ; with very few tones he produces 
an infinite symphony. Yet the world has not been able to 
keep from abusing the legitimate joy of heaven with the 
evil of Satan, and subjecting it to deceit. So it comes 
that we have the madness of dancing, the frivolity of vulgar 
songs, the wickedness of roisterers. All of these things 
have been long ago driven out of this republic and are now 
unheard. They like that sort of music which has a prophetic 
spirit, a whole-souled harmony resounding to the heavens. 
Whatever the saints have composed, whether it be of a 
joyful, lamenting, commending, or beseeching nature, this 
is the material for their music: and daily outbursts of the 
spirit increase the supply. Here sacred poetry lends its 
assistance, yet not the sort which sings of Venus and 
Bacchus. Moreover, they have an exact distribution of 
voices according to age and sex, so that when they meet in 
public the tones of all of them can sound forth in harmonious 
concert. Nothing can be compared with the majesty of this 



224 Christianopolis 

music ; for when the favor of the Holy Spirit, the success of 
the composition, impressiveness of the words, and the force 
of harmonious volume unite, the greatest charm must re- 
sult. And they have this advantage too, that the chief points 
of the Christian religion, examples of an upright life, the 
most memorable of the deeds of God, are included in their 
songs and they receive them into their souls by this agreeable 
medium. More prudent are they than those of the world, 
who, when among the blandishments of the flesh they have 
hummed their indecent and foolish songs long enough, are 
finally compelled amid the stings of death and pricks of 
conscience to roar something sadder. 



LXV. 

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 

In the theater of mathematics there is also a place for 
musical instruments, yet here likewise they are employed in 
great number and variety. You would have difficulty find- 
ing anyone who is not skilled in their use, though each one 
has the liberty to choose which he is partial to, the lute, the 
violin, harp, or wind instrument ; or the combination of all, 
as it were, the organ, of which they have very elegant speci- 
mens. They are in the habit of recommending to their 
students very accurate technique, that they may foster 
promptness toward public affairs, and especially readiness 
and adaptability of the whole body toward God. For they 
very frequently admonish them that they should be toward 
their Creator and their neighbor what the hand which moves, 
raises, and lowers the fingers according to an inner impulse 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 225 

and outer marks is to music. This might well be men- 
tioned to those who are on all sides subjected to the rules 
and requirements of an art, but do not care to listen to God 
who would attune them to His instruments and offer them, 
what they call a tabulatura, of the duty they owe Him. 
Hence these discords in the various ranks of life, the con- 
fusion of human works and ceremonies, and the neglect of 
divine law — sounds which can never be pleasing to God, but 
must be ever objectionable. It would be better if they 
would render the laborious services, which they so readily 
offer the world, to God who is in no manner so severe or 
harsh but who is more anxious to preserve and care for His 
instruments, however fragile they be, than the world is 
desirous of breaking and casting aside her strongest tools. 



LXVI. 

THE CHORUS. 

That they may contribute to public worship as much as 
possible, they make use of solemn music also. This they 
do by means of a chorus which passes through the city once 
every week, in addition to the holidays. All in the school 
march two by two, men on the one side, girls on the other ; 
and in proper order they traverse the streets of the city, 
sending up a hymn to God, as much with the voice as with 
different kinds of instruments. They are arranged accord- 
ing to age in such a way that the voices are well distributed 
and the less experienced are reinforced by the more 
mature. When I was there the one hundred and twenty- 
seventh Psalm was sung, in which the care of the state 



226 Christianopolis 

was intrusted to God. I have never heard more volume 
or better harmony anywhere^ than when they walked 
with easy step under the arched porticoes. My eyes and 
ears were thoroughly delighted, and I wished that I might 
always be able to be present during this sacred service 
of praise. They do this in imitation of the angelic choir 
concerning whose songs God Himself bears witness. 
Since they consider the service, protection, warnings, and 
instruction of these very highly, and are anxious to have 
them as near as possible to themselves, they hope, and not 
without reason, that the heavenly chorus may be singing 
along in the same measure with them. Who would not be- 
lieve that these pure souls take more delight in such a public, 
spiritual joy than they would in the noise of a city confused 
with the power of the world ! Or who would doubt that 
they offer more to souls raised aloft with a pure joy toward 
God, than to those sad and worn out under the torture of 
vanity! They say (and I believe it) that they never return 
from one of these choral processions except with spirits 
strengthened and anointed, as it were, with divine breath ; 
that they never feel the guardianship of the angels more 
closely at hand and remarkably than when their hearts are 
bubbling over with a complete joy in God. They say that 
in this way God is praised, the soul is enlivened, the flesh 
is put aside, the world avoided, and Satan put to flight. 
But what about the world? While she is playing the fool, 
snoring, and wasting her oil, the Heavenly Bridegroom has 
entered and has tightly closed the door behind Him. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 227 

LXVII. 

astronomy, the fifth department. 

Astronomy lays claim to the fifth school, and it is as 
deserving of humankind as any other art. For with in- 
credible diligence it shows us the movements and gentle rota- 
tions of the heavens, the orbits and positions of planets, the 
location of the constellations, their arrangements and dif- 
ferences, then also the number and size of the visible stars 
and their relations to each other, almost gives entrance into 
the very sky, and renders the same, as it were, tributary to 
this our own territory. And surely it is worthy being prac- 
ticed by the kings of the earth, since it seems to command 
the sky. The inhabitants of Christianopolis set much store 
by it, nor do they fear falling away by the motion of the 
earth or being thrown off by unheard of star-dwellers. The 
honor is sufficient for them, which Christ bestowed upon the 
earth when He dwelt upon it as a human being. God shall 
see to the other things. Yet let us examine those now who 
look at the sky no more observantly than any beast. As 
far as they are concerned the sun might rise in the west, and 
but for their calendar they know no time. If these people 
make any pretensions to knowledge, it is a great disgrace 
for them to care nothing about what the holy patriarchs 
studied with the greatest earnestness; whereas if they have 
no ambition they are to be reproved for keeping on the 
ground the countenance which was given man to be raised 
aloft. Every excuse carries with it its disgrace which de- 
prives man of his humanity, or if you please, his divinity. 
Surely man has not ascended to those highest abodes on his 
own legs, nor has he observed those most confusing laws 



228 Christianopolis 

without God's guidance. Hence, only the most noble- 
minded natures have an inclination toward astronomy; the 
base and earth-born are satisfied to eat acorns and husks. 



LXVIII. 

ASTROLOGY. 

In this same hall, astrology, valued highly for many rea- 
sons, is offered. For whatever the earth owes the sky, and 
whatever the sky communicates to the earth, they who have 
experienced both test out. The all-wise Creator has 
so made his greatest work interdependent, that it governs 
and yet obeys itself. Hence the governing influence of the 
stars is noted, with a greater admiration of human thirst for 
knowledge than for dependability of the results. Experi- 
ence fosters confidence, theoretical reason creates doubt; 
between the two, the earth confesses her inferiority to the 
sky. The effect of the sun and the moon are the more easily 
recognized. Of the remaining stars, those who practice the 
art have as many differences of opinion. I could not under- 
stand, when they conversed with me on the subject, what 
the inclinations of the inhabitants of Christianopolis were. 
At any rate, they subject their thoughts, however hampered 
by the hindrances of the body, to God and God alone. 
They say that it is an uncertain thing to make everything 
dependent on the first moment of existence and birth, 
and from this moment to accept judgment of life or 
death. And so they emphasize rather this, as to how they 
may rule the stars, and by faith shake off the yoke if any 
exists. Hence they recognize a new sky, other stars and 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 229 

movements, where Christ is the moving factor. Through 
His mercy they break the power of all ill will, of every thing 
contrary^ weak, or foreign. The most fortunate horoscope 
is that of adoption into the ranks of sons of God, whose 
Father, when consulted by prayer, rarely is silent upon any- 
thing; when besought rarely refuses anything, so far is it 
from Him to expose them to wanderings of the stars. The 
wanderer on the earth realizes this; and in the shadow of 
God he fears no storms of the sky. Those who have wis- 
dom beyond this, are wise to themselves. Moreover, let 
us not excuse the stupidity of those who, though they seem 
to themselves to be in a position to crush everything under 
their feet and even foolishly scorn the very sky, are men 
according to the days of the week, now servile, now rebels ; 
to-day admirers, to-morrow scoffers ; never fair-minded, 
always crude. For he who does not know the value of 
astrology in human affairs, or who foolishly denies it, I 
would wish that he would have to dig in the earth, cultivate 
and work the fields, for as long a time as possible, in un- 
favorable weather. 



LXIX. 

THE HEAVEN OF THE CHRISTIANS. 

There is a great difference between man and man, but a 
far greater difference between a Christian and a man of 
the world. The man of the world does not serve as many 
things as the Christian has dominion over. The latter is 
not only free from all offense of Heaven, but he is even 
reconciled to the same. Hence he receives his daily gifts 
from a friend, as God orders all creatures to be kindly 



230 Christianopolis 

disposed toward the Christian. To what extent the heavens 
favor the Christian, and how he obeys the impulses of faith, 
are beyond the conception of the non-believers. How 
singly he is intent only on the church, no one outside of her 
knows or comprehends. The sun, the stars, the rainbow, 
hail, and dew, to mention only a few — with how many bless- 
ings have they benefited loyal men ! The favor of heaven 
accompanied the church when it wandered as a stranger 
from the east into the west, and tamed men whom formerly 
it had kept as barbarians. The favor of heaven teaches us 
with prophecies and miracles, rebukes wickedness, raises 
the heads of the pious, and makes them look up with a 
hope of restoration. With what wonderful harmony heaven 
assists the history of the earth and benefits the church in its 
varying fortunes, it is hardly possible to say. Because only 
a few care for this, it happens that still fewer grasp the 
prescribed path of the church in these lands, and though 
they praise religion, they conclude that flourishing times 
have come to this age by chance. Meantime they them- 
selves do not consider the words of Antichrist, of Ma- 
homet, and of similar false prophets, nor will they tolerate 
such investigation on the part of others. Yet they see other 
clouds arise and they exclaim against them; if they would 
judge as worthily of the signs of the times, as of the ap- 
pearances in the sky, they would not have to hear " hypo- 
crites " from Christ. The inhabitants of Christianopolis 
seek first of all a spiritual heaven and are solicitous for it. 
They love a physical sky the more because they know it 
always has been and will continue to be propitious to Chris- 
tians. As they have founded their city under its blessed 
auspices and on a favorable anniversary, they know that 
the ill will of heaven will never come upon the city as long 
as it honors God. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 231 
LXX. 

NATURAL SCIENCE, THE SIXTH DEPARTMENT. 

The sixth hall has its name from natural philosophy, 
which I have already suggested in the hall of the same 
name. How very zealous they are in this field, it is need- 
less to affirm, since the very necessity of the study requires 
it. For by its help we arrive at a knowledge, general and 
special, of each world, and examine into the movements, 
qualities, behaviors, and phenomena of their creatures. By 
it we discover of what material things are made, what is 
their form, measure, place, and time ; how the heavens move 
and how they appear, how elements mingle and how they 
increase, for what purpose living animals and plants exist, 
of what use metals are, and especially, what the soul, that 
spark of divinity within us, accomplishes. All these, for- 
sooth, are very beautiful things, and it is below his dignity 
for man not to know them, after the faithful investigations 
of so many men. For we have not been sent into this world, 
even the most splendid theater of God, that as beasts we 
should merely devour the pastures of the earth ; but that 
we might walk about observing His wonders, distributing 
His gifts, and valuing His works. For who would believe 
that the great variety of things, their elegance, advantage, 
and maturity, and in short, the utility of the earth, had 
been granted to man for any other reason than for his 
highest benefit? If anyone believes that all these blessings 
are due him without gratitude, nay even without considera- 
tion on his part, he is basely deceived. It is rather man's 
duty, now that he has all creatures for his use, to give 
thanks to God Himself in the place of them all; that is, he 



232 Christianopolis 

should offer to God as much obedience as he observes in 
His creatures. Then he will never look upon this earth 
without praise to God or advantage to himself; but with 
an admonition toward moderate use and exact observa- 
tion. Blessed are they who use the world and are not used 
up by it as far as God has generously granted it! He who 
recognizes Christian liberality will never subject himself to 
the base servitude of creatures. 



LXXI. 

HISTORY. 

History, that is, a rehearsal of the events of human trag- 
edy, accompanies natural science. Words cannot do sufficient 
justice to the importance of this. Yet scarcely anywhere 
among mortal men does it appear uncorrupted, so deep are 
the secrets of the human heart, so generous our rating of 
ourselves, so bold our critical judgment of others, so subtle 
the apologies for human errors. The inhabitants of Chris- 
tianopolis grasp truth very firmly, and they prefer to tell 
the truth though it bring shame to them, than to tell a lie to 
their glory. And so they want everything written down very 
plainly, and they confess all their doings, even their faults, 
frankly in order that posterity may know the events of the 
past without disguise. It is a very sad thing to look back 
through so many thousands of years upon the tyranny of 
Satan, the growth of crime, the monstrous deeds of men, the 
hideousness of wars, the horrors of massacres, the boast- 
ing of conceit, the arrogance of wealth, the confusion of 
ranks, and the secrets of wickedness. All these conditions 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 233 

suceed each other in the world, recur often, and disturb 
the entire period. How pleasant it is, on the contrary, to 
contemplate the champions of God, germs of virtue, dignity 
of the human soul, abundance of peace, restful quiet, con- 
fession of one's shortcomings, the fullness of contentment, 
varieties of gifts, invincible strength of holiness. There are 
scholars who are bold enough to be unacquainted with such 
facts and who rank them with fables ; they are very worthy 
themselves to be told of in fable. Meanwhile, it is clearly 
evident that as many as are ignorant of past events, are 
likewise of little value in the present and unprepared 
for the future, however bold and arrogant they may be as 
to other things. For as the study of human history makes 
man gentle, humble, and careful, so the ignorance of it 
keeps him crude toward himself and others, proud, and 
hasty toward his own and the state's undoing. 



LXXII. 

CHURCH HISTORY. 

Since the inhabitants of Christianopolis make every- 
thing in this world second to the church, they are concerned 
in its history more than with any other. For as this is 
the only ark which can contain those to be saved, they pre- 
fer to be solicitous about it rather than about the waters of 
the universal flood. So they relate with what immeasur- 
able goodness of God that insignificant little flock was col- 
lected, how it was taken up under His covenant, put in order 
with laws and fortified with the Word ; they tell with what 
weak instruments it was extended, with what very strong 



234 Christianopolis 

machines it was attacked, with what evident aid it was 
defended ; with how much blood, with what prayers its 
safety was established, with what a roaring on the. part of 
Satan the banner of the cross triumphed; how readily the 
tares grow up, how often its light is drawn back into a 
corner, how many eclipses the light suffered, especially 
severe and dense under Antichrist; how it emerged often- 
times out of desperate circumstances, and in our own 
age under the guidance of the great Luther ; with what filth 
and spots it is frequently besmirched, how much trouble it 
has with the sons of the flesh. Many such points as these, 
as well as periodical and harmonious changes in the 
church, they have at hand, and impress them carefully 
upon the youth that they may learn to trust God, distrust 
the flesh, scorn the threats of the world, and bear patiently 
the darkness of this age. This is all very well too, how- 
ever others may boast of their neglect of ecclesiastical his- 
tory. For how little the latter is required even in the case 
of ministers, and how very little, where it is offered, is 
done in comparison with one or a second syllogism, need 
not be enlarged upon in this place. This is a trick of Satan 
who, while he removes from before our eyes the past dis- 
putes of the pious, and the scourges of heresy, leaves any 
possible clouds of the church, in place of the serene and 
unmistakable light, until we under some delay gradually 
accustom ourselves to superstition and wickedness. Oh, 
if men would but stop to look back at the seriousness of 
our reformation, simony and a false impression of security 
would not impose upon so many ; and oh, that religion would 
be guarded more seriously which abhors not only the Ro- 
man doctrine, but her morals also! Meantime the inhabi- 
tants of Christianopolis think very often not so much of the 
church in the larger sense, but also of their own small one 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 235 

within their hearts, that whatever is done within them for the 
spirit against the flesh and on behalf of heaven against hell, 
as often as they are conscious of the divine Presence, they 
may note it down, that thus they may believe and know that 
they are the elect and beloved of God. 



LXXIII. 

ETHICS, THE SEVENTH DEPARTMENT. 

The seventh school has ethics as its chief subject, their 
guide in all human virtues, in prudence, justice, moderation, 
bravery, and kindred qualities ; not only do they wish her to 
be careful in precepts and rules, but in very deed, especially 
shining in daily examples. It is ridiculous to advise others 
to do what we contradict in our lives. Those who boast of 
nothing but heaven, should not savor of the earth; those 
who inculcate justice should do injury to none; those who 
advocate temperance should not live in extravagance ; those 
who boast of bravery should never be cast down. If there 
are any who go in advance, those are not lacking who follow, 
whose examples are very many. Here they give reward for 
work done; for they drive from the society of good men 
every item of luck. They say that fortune is purely fictitious 
and rests upon our own notion ; that we seek or shun re- 
spectively, what we picture good or bad for ourselves. Since 
it could be in our power, that conditions be always suffi- 
ciently well with us, we accomplish as a result of our own 
persuasion that we must needs suffer evil and be in want. 
They say that we will always be in need, as long as we de- 
sire what we cannot obtain ; that we will always have abun- 



236 Christianopolis 

dance, as long as we possess only those things of which no 
one can deprive us. This is altogether true; for no one 
else is to blame for our unhappiness except ourselves, we 
who, while we covet individually what is due to all, and 
while thus keep attacking other people's rights, always have 
one with whom to quarrel — there is always someone who 
may conquer or suppress us ; or if no one actually disturbs 
us, surely we never satisfy ourselves. And since the citizens 
of this ideal city understand these facts, they are not will- 
ing that their greatest treasure should dwell anywhere ex- 
cept in their own breasts. And because they do not want a 
purely imaginative treasure they believe and recognize 
Christ as the one by whose love they are joined together in 
perfect mutual friendship, by whose perfect truth they are 
directed, whose perfect courtesy they obtain, by whose per- 
fect generosity they are covered, or, to mention it all in one, 
by whose humanity they are ennobled. That it may please 
us to imitate this, or that it may be permitted through 
those who usually fill the earth with the basest morals and 
vainest practices, I do with a whole heart pray God, the 
author, preserver, and rewarder of a moral and well regu- 
lated life. 



LXXIV. 

THE GOVERNMENT. 

More subtle than this is government, which very evi- 
dently employs a constructive mind for ruling men and for 
protecting population. I have already said that they have 
preferred government by aristocracy to other forms, because 
this approaches more closely to the Christian society. In 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 237 

this they establish three good qualities of man : equality, the 
desire for peace, and the contempt for riches, as the world 
is tortured primarily with the opposites of these. They 
have also put the culture of the soul on a higher plane and 
have made it known, that anyone may know himself more 
easily. The chief point with them is that Christians ought 
to be different from the world round about, in morals as 
well as in religion, that they ought not be permitted to do 
everything, though it be right for others; that they ought 
not tolerate all that others bear. They say that the Gospels 
require a different government than that of the world, and 
that the judgment of it lies with the Christian religion. 
They chide the world for permitting haughtiness among 
those in high places, immorality among the clergy, dis- 
honesty among office-holders, extravagance among the citi- 
zens, deviations from the right by all persons ; and only on 
this one pretext, because they are men. For they say that 
this merely denotes a lack of serious attempts and a correct 
constitution of government, since man is really not an un- 
tamable animal; afterwards even the very wrestling- 
grounds of evils are opened so that it is surprising that 
even now one can resist. They say that very many prac- 
tices also, which are evil and harmful, are looked upon as 
good and praiseworthy; and the criticism of these is not 
permitted. Excellent laws stand out to the view; but if 
anyone would urge their enforcement, he would be ridiculed. 
It did not seem to them, they said, that a government was 
formed after the model of Christ, where God was made of 
less account than men, the soul less than the body, the body 
less than riches ; where the vices of wealth are not consid- 
ered a crime ; the virtues of poverty not praiseworthy ; where 
the instigator of crime receives a reward ; the one corrupted, 
death ; where the soul of a man may be sold for any price. 



238 Christianopolis 

I could not answer all these arguments, however much I 
tried. So I referred the matter to the political scientists of 
our age, who would not portray the world in so many vol- 
umes unless they knew what would be profitable to the afifairs 
of mortals. Yet I have thought that many things are said 
against the morals of our age not unjustly, which could be 
corrected with no greater difficulty than that with which the 
world maintains her own. We see that our own affairs can 
be well enough defended from injury, provided we look 
upon divine things and the holy name of God with some 
reverence ; since some are said to have observed super- 
stitiously, others fanatically; but only the Christians by 
their own boasting do not blush to enumerate them among 
impossibilities. 



LXXV. 

CHRISTIAN POVERTY. 

It is not sufficient for Christians to be good according to 
the teachings of ethics and government, but they choose as 
their model Christ Himself, a far higher Master. As He 
is the most perfect embodiment of the highest virtues, He 
deserves to have imitators. Moreover these virtues go 
beyond human excellencies and are included under the 
symbols of the cross ; and those, who have devoted themselves 
closer to man, have called these Christian proverty, by which 
we renounce even the things that are permitted the world, 
that we may possess only Christ. Those who join this group 
unlearn, leave, and bear everything. They prefer simplicity 
to intelligence, ignorance to knowledge, silence to eloquence, 
humility to dignity, credulity to shrewdness, want to abun- 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 239 

dance, studying to teaching, bearing to doing; and whatso- 
ever things are considered lowly on earth, provided they 
are harmless, these they desire. Do not believe that these 
are Roman Minorites,^ sly and grasping of all that is great- 
est on this earth; nor yet hypocritical saints of their own 
understanding and secret pride. It is a happy race of men, 
and skilled in whatsoever they do on earth. Whatever they 
have of the gifts of God, they divide in common, reserving 
almost nothing for themselves. They are not irritated by 
being offended, nor puffed up by fame ; they are not elated 
by abundance, nor yet depressed by poverty; they do not 
admire hair-splitting arguments, they do not consider the 
most insignificant things below their notice; they are not 
worried by the threats of the age, they are not caught by 
report of things of the present; they are not disturbed by 
noise, nor are their wits sharpened by separation from 
others; they are not afflicted in life nor terrified by death. 
There are only a very few of these, nor could they easily 
be other than such as already have penetrated through all 
things, to whom already human affairs and human knowl- 
edge are apparent, to whom after the wanderings on the 
earth the only thing in their wishes is the certainty of 
heaven. No one is more voluntarily foolish, none more 
surely ignorant, none more easily in want, no one more 
readily serves, than those who, respectively, are experi- 
enced in controlling the slipperiness of wisdom, the wind- 
ings of knowledge, the burdens of possessions, the risks of 
dangers. Hence those who are accustomed to laugh at and 
criticise such people, only bear witness by that very fact 
that they have no taste for human affairs, but wallow about 
in the very mire out of which they arose by the grace of 
God. 

^ Franciscans. 



240 Christianopolis 

LXXVI. 

THEOLOGY, THE EIGHTH DEPARTMENT. 

Now the eighth school is left, which is devoted to theol- 
ogy, the queen of all that human beings possess, and the 
mistress of philosophy. This, first of all, teaches the mode 
of expression of the Holy Ghost in the Holy Scriptures; 
their strength, elegance, efficacy, and depth, that the stu- 
dents may know what is meant by this or that diction and 
this or that combination of words ; and that they may learn 
to admire this sort of language more than all the eloquence 
of this earth. Then they are urged toward a devout imita- 
tion of this divine speech that, when they shall have collected 
for themselves from their boyhood days a mighty treasure 
of holy thoughts, they may know how to adapt them also 
to the needs of mortals, and may learn to speak to others 
with the same spirit, the same words with which the 
apostles of Christ preached the Gospel to the people. 
Thirdly, they arm them with the arguments and the firmness 
of the unconquered Word so that, when they are attacked 
by heresies or when the father of false argument, Satan 
himself, battles against them, they may understand how to 
defend the sincerity of truth borrowed from the source of 
truth, and that they may learn how to preserve the clear 
founts of Israel in every time and place from the contami- 
nation of earthly mire or human theorizing. This they call 
scholastic theology, which teaches them to know, imitate, 
and defend the words of Holy Writ; and in this they train 
their students so as to remind them that these matters do 
not of themselves actually accomplish anything in Chris- 
tianity, but that they do tend toward preparing one for 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 241 

accomplishing something. Moreover, they avoid the names 
of sects especially, nor do they at all willingly pronounce 
them; and though they love to hear the name of Lutheran, 
yet they strive first of all to be Christians. From which I 
gather that they do not agree with those who, though they 
admit any translation as safe, and go securely to sleep 
with the same, are not very much concerned whether the 
Holy Spirit has said this or something else. Next, that they 
do not restrict all theology to the experience of addressing 
an audience, since it may occur that a man, as wicked as he 
is ignorant, will speak forth to the people borrowed words 
even though they be holy. On the other hand they do not 
admire those by whom all theology is converted into dag- 
gers, swords, and bows, and who admit no worship of God 
except it be of a disputatious or contentious nature. Finally 
I gather, that they do not permit every harmless difference 
of opinion to generate factions and hate, but teach their 
pupils in such a way that, as often as there is need, they 
may be able to form opinions on versions of the Scriptures, 
address assemblies, defend the truth, avoid schisms, and 
what is perhaps more fortunate and surely more moderate, 
that they may prefer to be engaged in the adjusting of a 
Christian life on the ground that Christ prefers holy men 
to scholars, obedient ones to logicians ; because the 
very arts of the soul accomplish less in the last oppositions 
of death than does the strength of conscience, purified by 
the blood of Christ. 



242 Christianopolis 

LXXVII. 

PRACTICE OF THEOLOGY. 

Thence they gird themselves with a great devotion for 
practical theology. This teaches them to pray, to meditate, 
and to stand trial. This is the wisdom which impresses 
the Holy Scriptures upon us and carries them over into our 
lives, that we may make known the mysteries of God. Here 
not merely the approval of the Divine Word is required, 
but its unanimity and harmony. For as Christ is the sum 
total of all secrets, so the regeneration in us is the begin- 
ning of a new childhood, youth, and even maturity, and 
urges upon us that which is in agreement not with Adam, 
but with Christ, our Book of Life. Those who establish 
their theology according to artificial rules do not compre- 
hend this. For there is need of a biting and bitter acid, 
taken internally, to tear down the inner structures and 
break them to pieces. Unless we cease, Christ will not 
begin; unless we are silent, God will not speak; unless we 
accept it passively, the Spirit will not be active. This is 
that sabbath for the sake of which all the pious on earth, 
throughout all ages, have been ridiculed. Such is the mad- 
ness of the saints of Christ that they not only believe in 
Christ crucified, but even are willing to be crucified them- 
selves. Such is the foolishness of the Gospel of Paul to 
glory in nothing except his own weakness. Here is usually 
a greater danger from Satan, who, being always evil, is 
here at his very worst, in that he creeps into man so 
stealthily that the latter is no longer God's. Hence the evi- 
dences of fury, sleeplessness, delirium, and other mockery of 
a soul not inspired of God but proceeding from itself. So 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 243 

the citizens of Christianopolis are accustomed to advise their 
ovn people and others seriously to ask nothing, to attempt 
nothing for themselves beyond Christian simplicity, w^ith- 
out the advice of God. For we cannot all be snatched into 
the third heaven as was Paul ; yet we can with him become 
fashioned like Christ. If we obey the Gospels, if we obey 
the apostles, this will meet the requirements of true theol- 
ogy, and we will be in no want of revelation or of preaching 
of angels in any other form. And even as genuine theology 
does not consider those coarse and sensuous Christians, so 
also it does not recognize those who are so extremely pre- 
cise and those who are drawn out into the realm of the 
purely mental. The best moderation of the cross is that 
which according to the balance of Christ places a fitting 
weight upon all the children of God, and trains them indi- 
vidually in such a way that they may have a reason for 
asking aid of God. 



LXXVIII. 

PROPHECIES. 

If now our very kind Father shall favor one man some- 
what beyond others, they do not unceremoniously reject the 
fact but test the prophesying spirits. So they have a school 
of prophecy, not at all that they would give instruction in 
the virtue of soothsaying which deceives so many, but as a 
place where they might observe the harmony and truth of 
the prophetic spirit. And as this cannot be done without 
divine suggestion, they confer on the matter in the fear of 
the Master to see whether any unusual portion of light 
may have been bestowed upon anyone. For rarely has any- 



244 Christianopolis 

one who can adjust all types of the Scriptures according 
to their differences, who can draw forth prophecies out of 
their most private shrines, who can reconcile the ceremonies 
of Moses with those of Christ, who can grasp the arguments 
of the apostles and even Christ, drawn forth from the Old 
Testament, or accomplish other things like these, under 
so many interpreters, — rarely has such a one estabhshed 
any faith at all with them. In truth many have caused them 
doubt as to whether one or another may not have given 
out judgment too indiscreetly. And so they confess that as 
far as concerns the forecasting of future events or the in- 
terpretation of past, they do not comprehend as yet the 
oracles of the Holy Spirit, yet none the less they are content 
in the divine revelation in which eternal salvation rests. 
Moreover they beseech God that He may be willing in His 
great indulgence, to make known to His children somewhat 
of the profound wisdom that lies hidden in the depths of His 
Word, and to reveal His Son to them, in every sacred page. 
How much they accomplish by this pious prayer, they did 
not tell me* 

Now I have in my uncouth style hastened through 
the points that were shown me in the Christian schools, 
and I trust I may not have injured the facts because 
of my poor writing and perhaps even my forgetful- 
ness. I would hope that some of the facts, though not 
all and even if only a very few, may please my pious and 
Christian reader or even give him courage to visit Chris- 
tianopolis and get surer and more detailed information than 
I have given. If he will communicate them with the same 
frankness and freedom as I have done, he will deserve the 
greatest thanks from those in truth for whom this shall have 
been so seasonably done; but especially the greatest grati- 
tude from me for assisting and correcting my work. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 245 
LXXIX. 

MEDICINE. 

Four rooms are left on this floor which also I was given 
an opportunity to inspect, two assigned to the study of medi- 
cine, two to jurisprudence. I will speak of the former first, 
however much may be due the other. No one will easily ex- 
plain the subtlety, method, and reasonableness of the science 
of medicine. It must be confessed that it is a remarkable 
gift of God, given over to human dexterity and observation. 
We say nothing further about it here because it has been 
very highly praised in the chapters on physics, chemistry, 
anatomy, and pharmacy, on which it is mainly based. Yet 
the science has its separate seat here where it examines into 
diseases and prepares remedies ; and where also it gives in- 
struction in case anything outside of the regular schools 
comes up. Of course each sensible man provides for his 
own body in such a way that he may live adequately for his 
daily duties, rather than be slow and dull in spirit. Hence 
the physicians very often prescribe temperance and exer- 
cise for their citizens, as being the safest precautions for 
health. In the other room surgery is practiced which offers 
advice and practical assistance for the human body. We 
human beings are so wretched that we have to be salved, 
scraped, burned, cut, torn, and emptied, and there is not a 
single little part of the body which is at all safe from 
innumerable dangers. So there is need of all sorts of 
activity and various instruments that these disadvantages 
may be met and the defects repaired. Moreover it is an 
excellent thing among all these afflictions of the human body 
to be mindful of our imperfections or rather the penalties 



246 Christianopolis 

for them, and to lay aside the crests of our vanity the more 
readily ; and then to hasten to that Physician for whom it is 
very easy not only to heal the sick parts and to restore 
what has been removed, but to revive the dead and to col- 
lect those that have been scattered into the finest dust. 
Moreover we will respect medicine, not so much because 
it offers us an unusually long life or sets itself against 
death, but because our excellent Creator has wished that 
through His creatures and their use, benefit should be 
brought to us. 



LXXX. 

JURISPRUDENCE. 

With all respect to the lawyers I must say there is no 
need of them at all among our Christianopolis friends. For 
as they live by their own laws and are bound to no other 
law except for a yearly tribute, they do not wish to be 
bothered by foreign rescripts, codes, pandects, or other 
legal digests, in canon, indulgence, or extravagance. Here 
there is nothing that may not be easily explained, nothing 
more noticeable than justice, and no one enters into legal 
dispute with another. Hence suits and those who carry 
them on all amount to nothing. It is an easy matter to settle 
quarrels and disputes, and there is no need of a corpus 
juris. So they think they have avoided many traps and 
snares, and especially dangers to the soul with unrest of 
the body. If they especially minded loss of goods, they 
would bear this even less. For it is always true that techni- 
cal law always takes, draws, rubs ofif, or abjures; presses, 
beats, hammers, strikes, twists, or shakes out ; abducts, pur- 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 247 

loins, robs, embezzles, sweeps, or carries away something if 
a person prefers to live by strife rather than tranquillity. 
However, these methods are to be attributed rather to poli- 
ticians than to the better scholars of the law. And so the 
lawyers have a school here also, though it is honorary rather 
than necessary. Yet that they may not be idle, they serve 
the political government, and they interpret the Roman laws, 
which are full of equity and honesty. I noticed about the 
same situation in the room of the notary; he seemed to 
be present to fill a place, and did not accomplish anything 
of great moment in this republic. Yet if anything is to be 
copied, it is intrusted to these men. And to the art of writ- 
ing as to a summary of the most valuable invention has been 
given this honor that it also may have its name in the cata- 
logue of the arts. Some people say also there is some mean- 
ing in the forms of the letters as there is in numbers, com- 
ing forth out of order and value. The citizens of Chris- 
tianopolis do not insist upon this ; they delight rather in 
tendering their hearts to God that He may write down with 
His finger what things will add to the security of the pres- 
ent or the future life. Such is their sacred incantation, such 
their art of divination, this the sum of their mystic litera- 
ture, of which they are all the more desirous, as it is more 
certain. 

LXXXI. 

the dwellings of the youth. 

The two stories that remain are reserved for bathrooms 
and dormitory purposes, two sides being given over to the 
boys and the third to the girls. For since they want this 
sex also liberally educated, they take particular care that 



248 Christianopolis 

those men who are placed over the youth have such wives 
as can teach the young women and the girls. The arrange- 
ment of the rooms will be plain from the accompanying 
sketch. This one fact should yet be mentioned, namely, that 
the boys are so associated with those who are grown up, 
and the adults so observed by the married men, and the in- 
spection is so carefully carried out all around, that, to the 
utmost possible extent, moral corruption of the youth is 
avoided. And as such can happen so rarely under a system 
of training which has kept up its innocence during a long 
series of years, it is to be valued above every happiness, 
especially when we remember what perversion, corruption, 
and offense of the youth there is elsewhere in schools and 
public educational institutions. Everyone carries with him 
domestic, rustic, or even paternal and inborn evil and 
wickedness, and communicates these to his comrades, with 
so poisonous a contagion that it spares not even those who 
ought to be consecrated entirely to God, but winds its way 
with varying wickedness, deceit, and rudeness, and takes 
possession of them so entirely that they cannot throw it 
off throughout their whole lives, and among the most honor- 
able offices; and this is done with lamentable pollution of 
the innocent, since the plague of one individual spreads to 
many, and as individuals contribute one is affected. So 
that now parents have to fear almost nowhere more than 
where they persuade themselves their children are being 
most plainly educated toward God. And right here there is 
especial need of very eager prayers that they may commend 
their dear ones very carefully to divine custody, whose sole 
care it is through the angels' guardian power to avert from 
them those impure and pestiferous lips, to stop their ears, 
and to strengthen their hearts toward the love of modesty 
and abhorrence of impurity. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 249 

LXXXIL 

the temple. 

And finally the temple, which is in the middle of the place, 
was shown me, a work of royal magnificence in which ex- 
pense and talent vied with each other. This should not be 
criticised, however, since no one in the republic is in want. 
The form of the temple is round, its circumference being 
three hundred and sixteen feet and the height seventy. 
In the one half where the gatherings take place, seats 
are cut and excavated from the earth that the structure 
may ascend less, and that the ears of all may be equally 
distant on all sides from the voice of the speaker. The 
other half is reserved for distribution of the sacraments 
and for music. The senators have a separate place there 
with the councilmen, not at all far from the speaker's 
platform, as I have shown in the sketch. But also the 
sacred comedies, by which they set so much store, 
and are entertained every three months, are shown here 
in the temple, in order that the history of divine things 
may cling the more firmly in the minds of the youth, and 
that their own talents may be rendered the more skillful 
and ready in handling such things. I could not sufficiently 
admire their artistic skill in these matters, as I myself saw 
the Jercmia of Naogeorgus ^ played before the people. The 
surrounding wall of the temple is full of windows so that it 
admits light all around. The other parts of the walls are 
elegantly resplendent with sacred pictures or representa- 
tions from biblical history. I saw no image except that of 
the crucified Christ and it was skillfully designed with a view 
* Thomas Naogeorg, dramatist, 1511-1578, 



250 Christianopolis 

toward moving even the hardest heart. The rest of the 
adornments I cannot easily describe unless I wished this 
done in detail. Suffice to say I could not enough admire 
the art and beauty, especially when I recalled those who, 
under the pretext of religion, despoil the churches, and 
when the desolation of the temples has been effected, do not 
nevertheless forget to provide for their own domestic lux- 
ury. Of a surety they are evangelical Christians with con- 
sciences to whom it seems a sin if the gifts of ancient sim- 
plicity offend the people anywhere else than in their homes ! 
Oh^ the religious reformers who, in order to empty the 
shrines, have offered their own homes for useless and 
boastful pomp ! Those who forbid the decorating of the 
temples of God, or who are as tenacious in this matter as 
they are prodigal in others, might find something here to 
learn. However, it is not my business here to teach what 
I think right, but to rehearse what I saw. 



LXXXIIL 

VOCATION. 

As many as have been consecrated to the church regard 
nothing before or above their calling. This is their con- 
fidence, this their shield, and this their crown. The parents 
wish for and seek in earnest prayer, though they do not buy 
nor obtain the result through custom, that sometime they 
may produce in their family interpreters or ministers of 
God, since they realize that this is the summit of human 
dignity. So whenever especial gifts of God, and, as it were, 
intimate acquaintance with the Holy Spirit, become ap- 
parent ; when a life is permeated, as it were, with heavenly 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 251 

thoughts ; when there is even a secret harmony of prayers 
in favor of one individual, then there arrives at the same 
time the heavenly and Christian message of a call which 
corresponds to an inward impulse of the heart and encour- 
ages them with a confidence in their spiritual duty. And 
when public and stated prayers are added to that, and the 
laying on of hands, they say that divine grace very noticeably 
appears and that a man, already good before, becomes even 
better. Hence the calling is valued among the people and 
is considered effectual ; while by the preacher it is a mark 
of heavenly favor that he has entered into a sacred covenant 
with God that he might be assisted and taught by Him; 
that he himself be silent upon nothing which is true or 
wholesome, nor add anything of human invention, and that 
he render up life and blood if necessary for the congrega- 
tion of God ; at the same time also that he renounce earthly 
immunities and express indeed the will of the good spirit. 
Blessed indeed is that church whose ministers are not dedi- 
cated to the ministry for support, condemned to it because 
of their dull natures, admitted because of some little learn- 
ing, pushed into it on account of the generosity of their 
parents, raised to it by the price of blood, promoted because 
of the agreement of curiosity, merely to find out how 
much they can accomplish for or against souls ! Blessed 
indeed is that church whose ministers determine their 
honor by the Word of God, their wealth by the increase of 
the church, their scholarship by the discomfiture of the 
Devil, their enjoyment by the putting aside of the flesh, 
their fame by the testimony of the poor, their purpose by the 
wreath of faith ! Happy indeed is that church in which God 
calls, man obeys, the angel assists, the government agrees, 
the people give ear, and the youth grow up! But alas 
to those who have transformed and debased into a certain 



252 Christianopolis 

frivolity and carelessness of vocation, the solicitude and 
bravery of their elders, by which they, called of God, fear- 
ing for their souls, have freed their necks from the deceits 
of Antichrist. 



LXXXIV. 

SERVICES. 

Of their sermons which are delivered in the temple, we 
have already spoken. The presbyter and the diaconus give 
them ; the former explains the Holy Scriptures, the latter 
the chief principles of religion. There are others subor- 
dinate to these who succeed them after death; for it is not 
permitted here to look longingly at the dead. The service 
is begun and ended with prayers and sacred psalmody. I 
saw nothing foreign to our so-called Augsburg Confession ; 
for they disapprove our morals, not our religion. When 
they pray or hear the Word of God, they fall down on their 
knees and raise their hands; they even beat their breasts, 
that they may awaken their souls. To do nonsense in the 
temple, or to fall asleep, they consider a sin. Though 
there are daily readings out of the works of holy and devout 
learned men, none the less they attend in large numbers. 
For whatever attention is given religion, this they consider 
the highest occupation. And if half the time of their lives 
is devoted to this, they still think it is too little. I was 
surprised at the behavior of these men when I noticed them 
jumping for joy at times, and often dissolving in tears; 
for they cannot rehearse either the goodness of Christ or 
the misdeeds of men without emotion. The events of the 
life of Christ are so distributed throughout the year that 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 253 

the individual, remarkable acts may have a memorial, and 
to these times they adapt their festivals, which however are 
not puffed up by affectation or fancy. In their ceremonies 
they are not spectacular, for they wish rather to improve 
than to astonish men. The dress of all is respectable, and 
that of the ministers is in no respect unusual. The color 
appropriate for religion is white, that of statesmanship red, 
of scholarship blue, of the working class green. Yet this 
fact does not affect Christians so much that they regard dis- 
tinction of color greater than that of virtues and vices ; nor 
do they regard indifferent ceremonies of such value that all 
care, examination, and sacred judgments should be anni- 
hilated by them. Is it because the vices of men are greater 
than we can oppose that we whittle straws and strain gnats 
just to be doing nothing? At Christianopolis, because they 
sow virtues and uproot vices, they confer regarding trifles 
at their leisure. 



LXXXV. 

sacred psalmody. 

Music plays not at all the least part in divine worship 
with them, however much puritanical melancholy may ob- 
ject. They praise God chiefly with the voice, but also with 
sound of trumpet, harps and zither, drums and chorus, 
strings and measure, cymbals and various organs. The 
holy prophets thought this proper, and Christ neither ad- 
vised against nor prohibited it. Thus Satan is mocked, 
who never rejoices with his own except when so doing will 
injure God's cause. They have many sacred songs, and 
that they may be able to sing them well together, they each 



254 Christianopolis 

bring along their little books and thus supplement their 
memory. In these songs they admire especially the spirit of 
the songs of Luther, though they do not spurn others. It 
is a pleasant thing to hear the whole congregation singing 
together in four or more parts, and yet not violating the 
time and rhythm of the composition. The practice of as- 
sembling daily for prayers makes this possible. That which 
has to do with numbers possesses something divine and 
penetrating into the souls of man. So all the best admire 
the poetry of David and hold it in high esteem, and favor 
also the poetry of to-day, if it is pure and Christian. Who- 
soever lowers the standard of this, is accused of abuse of 
his talent; whoever traces it down from its source, is con- 
sidered by them as deserving to be crowned with laurel. 
Let no one believe that elegance in poetry is out of the 
question unless mentioning idols ; let no one charge the 
sacred writings of crudeness. It is a trick of Satan, who 
perverts our hearing so that the music of the zither appeals 
to us less than the sound of the bagpipe. And what makes 
sacred song so powerless over us, makes it leap about so 
wantonly, other than the sluggishness within us toward the 
good, and the sensational tickle of evil ? On the other hand, 
what quiets or disquiets our thoughts unless it be, respect- 
ively, the spirit of sacred song and the shamelessness of 
worldly music? Whatever genius the worldly songs may 
possess, they become useless under test of the cross; while 
however much simplicity the sacred ones have, they refresh 
the soul beyond belief though previously the words and 
syllables were neglected. Let us give thanks to God who 
is ever willing to be near the silent or the prayerful, the 
grieving and the singing, and willing to hear them com- 
passionately. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 255 

LXXXVI. 

the sacraments. 

The sacraments are administered as instituted by Christ 
and according to the rites of the early church; frequently, 
because of their great value ; reverently, on account of their 
high dignity ; elaborately, because they are observed by the 
devout. When children are baptized in the name of the 
Trinity, they have witnesses of their faith and obligation, 
first of all the father, but also an honorable married couple 
and absent friends are bidden; and all these pledge their 
faith for the sacrament and charge themselves with the 
care. For they say that godparents should stand in the 
place of the parents and should render an account to God 
for their spiritual children. The observation of a guardian 
should not be more diligent than that of a godfather ; while 
their mutual love will be perchance the greater, as the 
bonds uniting them through Christ are closer. Those who 
here seek gold commit a grave fault; those counsel most 
wisely who require the best observers for their children and 
monitors of their virtues. As often as the holy supper is 
offered, as it invites all, so also unless actual necessity 
prevents, all attend and thus bear witness to their peace 
with men. The elements consisting of unleavened bread 
and wine are given at the altar where a haughty countenance 
can make no change. As many as approach bring along 
a contrite heart, a faithful soul, and a body ready for cor- 
rection, and a little later they show by actual deed what 
they have promised. This is their most welcome tribunal 
where offenses are adjudged and removed. For he who 
can be angry at his brother to deny God or not to accept 



256 Christianopolis 

Him, such a man is a horror to the state and not at all to 
be tolerated. Then also those stand here who, after having 
given way to the deceits of the Devil, have again become 
reconciled to the church ; and for their salvation and repent- 
ance they are as heartily congratulated as they were la- 
mented at their fall. And especially do they see to it that 
no crime be charged to church or state; but they free and 
cleanse themselves and others with the Christian expiation. 
Those who neglect this, are crushed by their own and others' 
misdeeds. There was a time when evildoers were inter- 
ceded for before the church ; now, as this turned out evilly, 
it is different. And yet the world boasts that there is 
nothing more severe and consistent than her discipline. 
But this praise surely our predecessors bear ; what we shall 
do, our posterity will speak of sometime, if there be any. 



LXXXVII. 

ABSOLUTION AND EXCOMMUNICATION. 

The keys which Christ left for binding and loosing, they 
preserve very religiously, while others use the one to the 
extreme and hide the other; so that it is said of them that 
they use the former up and lose the latter. The inhabitants 
of Christianopolis confess the sum of their sins singly, many 
of them even into the ears of a friend — for there is no 
one among them without a rather close friend — or into 
the ears of a clergyman; and by this frankness they say 
that their burdens are very much lightened. Through 
His ministry, Christ promised clemency in return for 
earnest repentance, eager faith, and careful amendment, 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 257 

but He threatens strict justice for dissembling. There 
is no fear lest anyone grow up ignorant of the Christian 
religion, since this is required in the school and carefully 
attended to. Moreover, that the consciences may be 
strengthened, many ministers are chosen to this very duty, 
but only such as are remarkable for innocence of life and 
fervor of spirit. If anyone distrusts men, no one is urged 
to reveal his secrets, but he is left to God, the reader of 
hearts. Against backsliders, especially those who remain 
stiff-necked after the vain warnings of brothers, fathers, 
and civil authorities, they pronounce the wrath of God, ban 
of the church, disgust of the state, and the abhorrence of 
every good man, with such success that it seems as if they 
have been shut off from the universe, that is, all the crea- 
tures of God. They consider this more severe than death 
and they all make great effort for the recovery of such a 
man. If at last he continues to resist and is stubborn, they 
expel him from the republic. Before this is done they tax 
him with the most extreme and debased labors or even with 
blows, by which means they prefer to punish the sins, than 
spill his blood, as far as this is permitted. Surely the world 
accomplishes little when it freely punishes the evildoers with 
fine, disgrace, or death and does not shake the lethargy out 
of their lives by which alone they are so rapidly driven to 
destruction, nor breaks their wantonness with hunger and 
work that they may either recover or be restrained. Poor 
indeed is that physician who is more ready to burn and 
to cut, than to cleanse and to revive. Nowhere will a repub- 
lic be found more fortunate than such a one which preserves 
as many of its citizens as possible and destroys the least 
possible number. The chief aim of such a state is : that 
after divine reverence has been inculcated and the foulness 
of sin exposed we learn earlier to be unwilling to sin, than 



258 Christianopolis 

not to dare to ; but if we do dare then that we be not able ; 
and if we break through absolutely, that we be compelled to 
atone for our acts and cleanse ourselves. 



LXXXVIII. 

MATRIMONY. 

Matrimony is undertaken by them with great devotion, 
approached with great caution, cherished with great gentle- 
ness, regarded with great consideration. Yet it is nowhere 
safer to get married than here. For as the unusualness of 
the dowry and the uncertainty of daily bread are lacking, 
it remains only that the value of virtues and sometimes of 
beauty be made. It is permitted a youth of twenty-four 
years to marry a girl not under eighteen, but not without the 
consent of the parents, consultation of the relatives, appro- 
bation of the laws, and benediction of God. There is with 
them the greatest reverence of relationship of blood. The 
factors considered in joining in marriage are for the most 
part conformity of natures and propriety; but also, a 
thing that is elsewhere so rare, recommendation of piety. 
The greatest fault is considered to be impurity and the 
laws against such offenders are severe. But by removing 
opportunities they easily eliminate the sins. The marriages 
have almost no expense or noise ; they do not at all expect 
worldly foolishness and senselessness. Young men con- 
duct the groom and young women the bride, and they all 
show their approbation with heart and prayer, when the 
bond has been joined. Then the parents of both and the 
nearest relatives come together^ shake hands and remind the 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 259 

newly married couple of the value of agreement, work, and 
moderation, but especially of devotion and patience. And 
so without any drunkenness, which usually initiates all 
sacred functions elsewhere, but not without a hymn and 
Christian congratulations, they are married. There is no 
dowry at all except the promises of Christ, the example 
of parents, the knowledge acquired by both, and the joy of 
peace. Furniture is provided together with the house out 
of the public store. In this summary fashion they render 
most safe and speedy, our cross, punishment, torment, pur- 
gatory, and however else we are accustomed to call 
inauspicious marriages. If now there should be any un- 
pleasantness, the difficulties are smoothed and ironed out 
from the experiences of all the friends; meantime no 
infidelity comes up, for it is severely punished. The grief 
which God feels at our desertion. He has not expressed 
more forcibly than in the case of the forgetting of parental 
and conjugal love. He has proved His justice with His 
zeal, in that we may abhor ingratitude and faithlessness, 
and punish them at the same time. Since the world has 
turned these two enormities into a joke, there are always 
worse conditions that follow upon bad ones, always per- 
sons who will later outdo former impostors. Hence 
so many evils of impurity which pour out vices, confuse 
the dowry-gifts, surround the family with diseases, pour 
down curses, scatter disgrace, slacken the conscience, cause 
repletion, scatter filth, squander wealth, call forth the 
threats of the Master, sow desperation, loose punishment. 



26o Christianopolis 

LXXXIX. 

WOMEN. 

The married women make use of the knowledge which 
they acquired while in college. For whatsoever human in- 
dustry accomplishes by working with silk, wool, or flax, this 
is the material for woman's arts and is at her disposal. So 
they learn to sew, to spin, to embroider, to weave, and to 
decorate their work in various ways. Tapestry is their 
handiwork, clothes their regular work, washing their 
duty. In addition to this they care for the house and the 
kitchen and have them clean. Whatever scholarship they 
have, being mentally gifted, they improve diligently, not 
only to know something themselves, but that they may some- 
time also teach. In the church and in the council hall they 
have no voice, yet none the less do they mold the piety and 
morals, none the less do they shine with the gifts of heaven. 
God has denied this sex nothing, if it is pious, of which fact 
the eternally blessed Mary is a most glorious example. If 
we read the histories, we shall find that no virtue has been 
inaccessible to women, and there is none in which they have 
not excelled. However, rarely do many of them compre- 
hend the value of silence. Yet we have some whom we might 
compare with or even prefer to men — real Monicas,^ dedi- 
cated to the church, pleasing to their parents, peaceful with 
their husbands, observing the rites of widowhood, generous 
toward their children, courteous toward their friends, use- 
ful toward those in want, neighborly to all. Among these, 
filial loyalty requires that I mention my mother. The cases 
elsewhere, in which very many women are too lordly, are 

^ Referring to the mother of St. Augustine. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 261 

rather the fault of those men who are effeminate enough 
to marry such mascuhne women. There is nothing more 
dangerous than situations where the women rule in secret 
and the men obey openly; on the other hand, nothing is 
more desirable than that each party takes charge of his or 
her special duty. It is a rare thing among them, and not at 
all considered a manly act, for the husband to beat his wife ; 
and the wife who is flogged is rather disgraced among her 
acquaintances. Their greatest boast is that of peace in the 
family. It is a monstrous thing to be joined in body and to 
disagree in spirit. Women have no adornments except that 
mentioned by Peter ; ^ no dominion except over house- 
hold matters; no permission to do servants' work (a thing 
that will surprise you), unless disease or some accident 
demands it. No woman is ashamed of her household duties, 
nor does she tire of attending to the wants of her husband. 
Likewise no husband of whatsoever employment thinks him- 
self above honorable labors. For to be wise and to work 
are not incompatible if there is moderation. Within rea- 
sonable bounds, nothing is more sensible than to further the 
public good with word and deed. 



XC 

CHILDBIRTH. 

The crowning accomplishment of women is bearing chil- 
dren, in which they take precedence of all the athletes of 
the earth; unless mayhap it would seem of greater impor- 
tance to kill a human being than to give birth to one. It is 
certainly little short of the miraculous for a woman to 
M Peter, III: 3, 4. 



262. Christianopolis 

bear such pains, and for the child to survive the great dan- 
gers. When a child is born the friends offer as congratula- 
tion the hope of the heavenly kingdom, they sympathize in 
the miseries that must be borne in the meantime. But this 
fact exceeds all others in importance, that we have been re- 
born by the birth of Christ into life, we who are doomed to 
die. They have no birthday banquet; for I have already 
mentioned that they can dispense with wine in their sacred 
and solemn ceremonies, a thing that others do not wish to 
do. Midwives are held in the highest regard, but none 
except the most capable are considered. The more religious 
a woman is, the more fitted for this office, provided of 
course the scientific knowledge is not lacking. Unless the 
case demands it, they do not tolerate nurses, for they desire 
that the children drink the milk of the mothers. Those who 
have charge of women in labor and the infants, are for the 
most part widows, whose special duty this is. There are 
also young women who take care of children. Baptism is 
administered in the presence of the congregation unless the 
child is dangerously ill. If it is deprived of the rite, they 
know that the seed of the faithful has been washed clean by 
the blood of Christ, and so they hope for the best. The 
period of confinement is forty-two days, after the expira- 
tion of which they give solemn thanks to God. During 
these days, lighter food, as is fitting, is brought from the pub- 
lic commissary. For the medical skill even of the women is 
by no means without results. Meanwhile if the husbands 
wish to live apart, they can ; if not, they are not driven out. 
They have the greatest desire for conjugal chastity, and 
they set a premium upon it, that they may not injure or 
weaken themselves by too frequent intercourse. To beget 
children is quite proper ; but passion of license is a disgrace. 
Others live together like beasts; yet even the cattle have 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 263 

characteristics which put such persons to shame, who might 
better with mutual love and mutual aid first care for heaven 
and later for things of the earth. So the citizens of Chris- 
tianopolis believe that there may be to a certain extent 
fornication and pollution even in marriage. Oh, the carnal- 
minded who are not ashamed to make sin out of lawful as 
well as unlawful practices ! But what can we do, when 
there are on all sides places for feasting and places of 
allurements, when even the very names of fasting, temper- 
ance, vigilance, and work among us are held in suspicion 
or are unknown? And so it happens that while we are 
dreaming that all things are permitted us, we take no 
pleasure in the things that are really good and healthful, 
pure and undefiled. 



XCI. 

WIDOWHOOD. 

Since no bond survives death, even the closest marriages 
are dissolved. If a husband dies, his widow leaves the house 
and withdraws into the home for widows, where she serves 
the state in some capacity, and marries again if she likes, 
but not before the expiration of a year, out of respect for 
her former love. If a woman dies, her widower eats with a 
neighbor or with others in the public house, till after a year 
he may marry again. There is no danger at all for the 
orphans, since all children are brought up with equal care 
in the college. For there is no one in this republic who has 
only individual parents. The state itself is a parent to each. 
The regard of widows is in accordance with their devotion, 
self-restraint, and industry. So they are honored like 



264 Christianopolis 

mothers, and are employed in bringing up the girls. For it 
is fitting that those who have experienced the emptiness of 
this world should advise those who are less protected, 
should restrain, and correct them. For Satan never operates 
against us with his secret devices more easily than when he 
promises pure joys, where in reality there is least of pleas- 
ure, very much pain and disgust. Hence as many as take 
their delight in lusts of the flesh or follow the ways of 
beasts, we must rightly consider them either entirely 
without experience or lacking in their senses. It is mad- 
ness to value the known world, foolishness to long for 
the unknown. So this is the duty of widowhood, to lessen 
the reputed value of the flesh among the inexperienced, to 
curb lustful desires among those who value impurity, since 
they show by their own example that, it is not always neces- 
sary to follow after the flesh, nay that it is far better to 
abstain for reasons of personal advantage, spiritual as well 
as civil. We may grow warm, but in such a manner that 
the spirit shall not catch fire ; let us restrain the warmth but 
without extinguishing the spirit; we may grow cool, with- 
out allowing the body to freeze; let us keep ourselves 
warm, yet not so as to kindle the body. Luxury displeases 
God, marriage pleases Him, widowhood is honored, and 
virginity is precious to Him. The highest grace and the 
greatest excellence of a chaste man is Christ's confession of 
the closest union with him. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 265 

XCII. 

the council hall. 

The council hall is situated above the temple, and is 
intended for the rarest and most august and solemn meet- 
ings. In these meetings the highest rulers are created and 
enter into mutual faith with the people. Here the statutes 
of the republic are read, here ambassadors from foreign 
parts are heard. It is of the greatest splendor, either to 
uphold the majesty of the republic, or that through the 
eyes it may teach generosity of disposition. For as 
the history of the earth is expressed here in vari- 
ous ways, so also those shine most brightly who deserve 
best in the affairs of men. Here I saw among the heroes 
John Frederick, Elector of Saxony, and of my own sov- 
ereigns, Christopher, Duke of Wurtemberg, most Christian 
princes, and others of no less virtues. Here were expressed 
alternately the advantages and disadvantages of the gov- 
erning virtue or vice; on the one side the very essence 
of watchfulness, tares of inactivity, light of humility, whirl 
of undesirable ambition ; on the other side power of love, 
slipperiness of tyranny, result of good example, chaos of 
dissoluteness; elsewhere the simplicity of truth, the sound 
of sophistry, elegance of refinement, the clattering crudeness 
of barbarism. The form of the divine, of the Christian, of 
the human, and the Satanic kingdoms, their likenesses and 
differences, laws and affairs were all here represented, and 
the result whether fortunate or sad was everywhere attached. 
Here was shown the likeness of the last judgment in its 
glad as well as in its horrifying phases, with the rewards 
of virtues and the punishments for vices all skillfully repre- 



266 Christianopolis 

sented. What shall I say ? It seems to me that I saw here, 
or nowhere ever, the real microcosmos, not with lavish ex- 
travagance, but devoted to the real education of man. If 
now we compare with these the heaven of the gods, the 
earth of the satyrs, the sea of Neptune, and the Hades of 
Pluto, how we will grow cool and how we will be laughed 
at that the human mind stands forth and comes into the 
open in nothing except foolish fables and dreams, and yet 
wishes to preserve among men the opinion and reputation of 
divine culture, love of country, and of scholarly skill. 



XCIII. 

THE COUNCILMEN". 

The councilors are the most distinguished of all the 
citizens, conspicuous for their piety, honesty, and industry, 
and tried out by long experience. In number they are 
twenty-four, chosen equally from the three orders, honored 
as well as loved by the citizens because of their high regard 
for the state. The citizens have elevated these not to re- 
move them from all virtues, but to appoint them as lights 
of the same, as it were, to all the rest. So they all have 
a zeal for religion, peace, and learning, out of which comes 
an abundance of all good things. The councilors take no 
pleasure in strutting before others, sucking the sap out of 
others' goods, or fattening lazily. But as the sun shines, so 
they brighten everyone, consult for all, work for all. If 
anything rather serious takes place, they themselves pray to 
God eagerly and require prayers of the people also. They 
observe the praiseworthy deeds of their predecessors very 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 267 

carefully, and transmit them inviolate to their descendants. 
I have nowhere seen a more diligent investigation of the 
past, nowhere a more solicitous care for the future. Hence 
they examine the present according to models, and if they 
find that they are deteriorating a single bit, they repair the 
matter. If on the other hand a thing can be improved in 
method, they rejoice greatly that opportunity has been given 
to bear testimony to posterity that they have not lived in 
vain. Yet they judge this thought to be a praiseworthy one, 
if they have preserved the flower and safety of the state. 
No one departs from the path of their former national life 
lest it might seem that they have become a different people, 
instead of being the same race, with a more approved skill in 
their duties. And so a fitting place of honor is preserved for 
labor and respectable occupation. As they honor the feeble 
more, so they burden them less, and the younger serve as 
their prop ; so they have twelve additional extraordinary 
substitutes. If any one of these commits an unusually grave 
offense, though they say this can hardly occur, he is removed 
from his position, and the matter seriously looked into. The 
reward of all is the consciousness of right, in which they 
exult, namely, that they have been able with divine assist- 
ance to propagate the Gospel, to protect their subjects, to 
ennoble the youth, adorn the land, and to increase the 
number of dwellers in heaven. 



268 Christianopolis 

XCIV. 

THE GARDENS. 

Around the college is a double row of gardens, one gen- 
eral and the other divided into plots corresponding to the 
homes of the citizens ; both are fitted out with more 
than a thousand different sorts of vegetables in such a way 
that they represent a living herbarium. They are not per- 
mitted to confuse the order of the distribution of the plants, 
which by the skill of the gardener are made to conform to 
the various zones of the sky, a wonderful and clever com- 
bination of colors, representing as it were a painted plate. 
They have here a number of birds in cages and the bees in 
their hives are very carefully tended. The plants that are 
for medicine, cooking, or decorative purposes are all in 
separate plots. Hence they furnish various uses and pleas- 
ures, — fragrance, purifying of the air, honey, drugs, har- 
monious song of birds, and information. There is plenty of 
water, which is carried by artistically arranged pipes, nor 
is the music out of harmony with the water. But they 
avoid all too great expense. Outside the walls they have 
their very extensive gardens, in which they raise crops for 
food purposes, for the others have been planted rather for 
their elegance. Moreover they learn here to judge the value 
of human beauty, which is the flower-gathering of a single 
year. We are born, we grow up, we are in our prime, 
we droop, and pine away. Out of our death there is again 
the rise and increase of others. Oh, happy are those who 
among the wholesome plants learn also to trust in God who 
feeds the flowers and clothes them without any care on their 
part ; who learn to note down the variety and diverseness of 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 269 

His gifts, and to connect their pleasant odor with God ! 
But why enumerate what man should learn from the crea- 
tures of God, when the smallest leaf contains the whole 
lesson? Rather let us wonder at those who, though they 
love the earth most of all, neglect entirely that which is 
the best of the earth, its use and beautiful decoration. Yet 
they are not willing to seem to burden the earth, though 
they tread it with crude feet. Let us lament the lost para- 
dise and long for its restoration. For though we look upon 
natural objects now with faulty vision, when our sight has 
been restored through the cross, we will behold all things 
not on the surface, but in their inmost depths. 



xcv. 

WATER. 

Christianopolis has water as well as excellent land. 
I will not now mention navigation in the presence of some 
who, like fungi, never move from their place. Perhaps 
sometime I will go into this in detail. Now I must 
explain what service they have as regards drinking and 
washing. An abundant supply of very clear water 
has been introduced into the city which they have 
distributed first into the streets and then into the 
houses, so that water abounds everywhere and can be 
obtained close at hand. Next, by means of underground 
canals, they have conducted the outlet streams of a lake 
through the alleys, so that the flowing water frees the 
houses of their daily accumulations, a scheme that is more 
conducive to public health than anything else easily thought 



270 Christianopolis 

of. Whence those seem to me to be very wise who want 
man not only when crested and plumed, that is, dressed ac- 
cording to modesty and fashion, but also when naked and 
convinced of human necessity, assisted and liberally pro- 
vided for. For as these conditions accuse us to ourselves 
and draw us down from the lofty halls of our imagina- 
tion to the filthiness of our mire, so they also advise us of 
reasons why we should not live uncleanly. Hence they 
have baths, that have been in use from early times. But for 
the most part the baths are private and only those for the 
children are public, for they fear the temptations of nudity. 
Then there are sanitary washrooms in quiet places; also 
washing of clothes, which man soils in various ways; and 
other arrangements for keeping men clean. Oh, this body 
of ours ! How unclean, how polluted, how moist, how 
sweaty, how decayed, how filthy! And yet it pleases the 
soul, dictates to it, wears it out, and at last crushes it! 
Pity us, Oh Thou source of life, wash and purify that un- 
cleanness, this body of ours, the impure blood, with Thy 
most holy blood, that we who are so ugly in our impurity 
may be dressed in the robe of Thine innocence and rendered 
acceptable in the sight of God ; that we may not be ashamed 
when Thou shalt return to each one according to his deeds ! 



XCVI. 

THE AGED. 

The aged of both sexes stand in the highest esteem, 
and so they take especial care that they be not afflicted with 
any trouble, as old age is in itself a disease. So they have 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 271 

appointed people who nurse them, cheer them up, honor 
and consult them. For since the powers of mind and body 
fail them together, they have to be kept bolstered up and 
inspired with young blood ; for they grow weak on account 
of the disgust of human life, and at the memory of so many 
accidental injuries, and so many errors of their own. Since 
with great labor and merit toward the republic they have 
discharged their duties with noticeable faith and care, even 
up to decrepit old age, no amount of honor and respect is 
considered enough in gratitude. And since finally they do 
possess the greatest truths of human life, not merely by 
way of some subtlety of theory, but through rough practice 
and experience of material difficulties, nothing can be 
thought up so ingenious and subtle that when rubbed 
against the whetstone of old age, it will not give up much 
of its own opinion, and accommodate itself more nearly to 
human conditions. If any of the youth but knew with what 
mistakes, sweat, shame, dangers, and snares the old people 
have acquired these truths, all of which they have buried 
within them and which they keep under the one word cave, 
beware ! — never would they be so thoughtless as to laugh 
at the advice of the old, and admire their own plans. But 
old people also have this advantage, that since they have 
sent such a throng of acquaintances ahead to their rest; 
since they have seen the good eventually ascend and very- 
many evil fall ; since they have observed the kingdom of 
God and the little ship of the church stand against the 
attacks and storms of Satan, and finally triumph ; since they 
have noticed the increasing offspring of virtues and the 
fruits of piety, they also gladly lay themselves down to the 
end of life, commend to all the naturalness and ease of death, 
and precede them all in their familiarity with death. For 
inasmuch as all our study and all our wisdom are noth- 



2'^2 Christianopolis 

ing but a consideration of death, it is befitting that those 
who have spent the most time therein, should be of all 
mortals the most experienced in matters relating to death. 



XCVII. 

FOREIGNERS AND PAUPERS. 

Toward strangers and foreigners they show the great- 
est kindness and generosity, of which I myself, a man in 
the deepest straits, am 'an evident example. Yet they are 
careful that the citizens do not contract any contagious 
disease as a result of too great liberty on the part of the 
guests. Evil practices of taverns, elsewhere so common, 
are unheard of and unknown to them ; and if they did know 
of them, they would heartily disapprove of them. They 
keep a guest frugally for a day or two ; an exile they sup- 
port for a long time; and a sick person they care for very 
kindly. They help the poor sufficiently and do not allow 
them to leave without material aid. However, they examine 
them all very closely in their words and behavior, and then 
do their charity. No beggar is known or tolerated ; for they 
judge that if anyone is really in need, the republic ought 
not to have to be warned of its duty; neither of which 
however can happen, and this is right. If a person is 
physically strong, he is never permitted to deny the republic 
his efforts, and these are sufficient for the food he gets. Yet 
elsewhere both these provisions are neglected. For when 
not rarely those persons starve who accomplish the most 
hard work, and when breaking down under their load they 
are deserted and cast aside ; on the other hand when those 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 273 

who have basely rejected their heavenly gifts, and v^ho 
escape all sweat on account of weakness of their flesh, when 
they are supported for the most part out of the state funds — 
it cannot but be that the '* bread snatched from the children 
is being cast before the dogs." In this respect we are alto- 
gether bound by the rule of the world; for the wealth of 
the world for the most part, serves the purposes of wicked- 
ness and extravagance, rarely, and then very injuriously, 
giving aid to the works of Christ ; and so it is exposed to the 
thievery of impostors, jugglers, quacks, tramp musicians, 
and hair dressers, that Christ may appear to be disgusted 
that such wrongly collected property should have been al- 
lowed to pass to so wicked an owner. Meantime, Christ 
does not lack means to support His own, for whom there is 
plenty even in their want. Nor are persons wanting who 
take off their clothes, throw them down, and strew the road 
for Christ. I myself, though I have always found the world 
greedy, stingy, and base toward me, have learned among 
the citizens of Christianopolis that there are still some 
who, for the sake of Christ and through Christ, desire very 
much to share their all. 



XCVIII. 

the sick. 

As diseases are of various kinds, so also ought our piety 
be manifold. The citizens of Christianopolis have observed 
this particularly, who have learned how to care for and 
comfort the souls, minds, and bodies that are afflicted. All 
of them strive to be able to come to their own and other 
people's assistance in case of need. Medicine, surgery, and 



274 Christianopolis 

the kitchen are all equally at the disposal of the sick, and 
everyone is prompt to assist. He who stands high socially 
does not exhaust the supply of drugs, while the lowly do not 
sufifer for want of alleviation; crowds of physicians do not 
linger around the great, nor does loneliness afflict the com- 
mon people. Yet after all, more rich people on earth are 
made away with than poor. Married women and widows 
here have the greatest opportunity and skill, and the state 
very kindly commends to them the care of the sick; they 
even have hospitals intended to take care of them. Along 
with the rest of the medicine they are also accustomed to 
cheer the spirits of the sick and to remind them of their 
former strength, lest they lack Christian fortitude. Then 
they bid them heed their usual moderation that they may 
not indulge their agitated bodies too far. And last also 
they urge them toward obedience to the instructions of 
medical attendance that they may not refuse to accept the 
unpleasantness of care imposed upon them. With these 
three the cross of Christ is received, lifted up, and borne. 
When a plague rages it is wonderful to relate how little 
effort there is to escape ; they await the hand of God. For 
he who believes that the amount of God's good will is 
limited, never understands how he may remove himself and 
withdraw. Persons whose minds are unbalanced or injured 
they sufifer to remain among them, if this is advisable; 
otherwise, they are kindly cared for elsewhere. This is 
what is done in case of the violent; for reason commands 
that human society should be more gently disposed toward 
those who have been less kindly treated by nature. For 
even we are not just as God would have us; yet, such 
as we are, He sustains us with limitless clemency and long- 
suffering. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 275 
XCIX. 

DEATH. 

Who will say that those in Christianopolis, though they 
live correctly, have an unsatisfactory death? Nay, since 
they die daily, who would doubt that sometime they shall 
live forever? More than any other this republic does not 
know death, and yet acts on such confidential terms with it. 
When they compose themselves to '' sleep " — for so they 
call death — they are very collected. They bear witness to 
their religion and regard Christ as a pledge of their faith. 
They also bear testimony to their love of country and seal 
this with a pious prayer. The rest they leave to God. 
They have no need of testaments, yet if they have any last 
wishes, they mention them to their friends. While one is 
struggling with death, public prayers are sent up for the 
victory of the Christian warrior. If a soul is in anguish, 
witnesses of divine truth are at hand and interpreters who 
demonstrate that God wishes all Christians well. If they 
suffer physical torment, the assurance of future comfort, 
health, and everlasting glory counterbalances this. Why do 
I explain this at such length ! Fitting words and deeds are 
necessary in each individual case, and these are given. 
Many are present at the deathbed, that they may witness 
the critical change from human to Christian life. For a 
single example will accomplish what no warnings can do 
with us. Yet in their humility and state of equality they 
have little of which death could deprive them; while our 
very body is too valuable to us, out of which we are not 
driven without trembling and which we are horrified to 
leave behind us. With a whole soul they pray that God, 



276 Christianopolis 

before whom they are about to stand, may be kindly disposed 
to the departed, and in the place of useless complaint they 
commend the soul to Him with an appropriate hymn. 
Finally they pray that when it shall be pleasing to God, they 
also may find their peaceful sleep with a contrite and faith- 
ful heart, one firmly founded on Jesus Christ. 



C 



BURIAL. 

The lifeless body they dress in a white robe, and on the 
day following the death they bear it away with uncoA^ered 
face ; large numbers of people accompany it. Young people 
sing sacred songs of Prudentius,^ and other hymns. The 
nearest relatives follow, for the most part, with calm face, 
and wearing their usual clothes. For they say that con- 
gratulations are more befitting a Christian than grief; and 
that such sad manifestations have no other result than to 
weaken the survivors. After the body has been lowered 
into the grave and covered with the earth from whence it 
came, they hear the Word of God, intended to give them a 
cheerful attitude toward death, and to inform them as to 
life. Rarely is an epitaph of the deceased left, for they 
say that this can hardly be done with fairness. Such as 
each one has been, God knows ; and posterity will transmit 
the facts. And this is safer than an inscription that has 
been bought, forced, or composed. A biographical sketch of 
those especially deserving is kept in their records, and the 

^ Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, 348-410, one of the most noted 
of early Christian poets. 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 277 

fact that these are few speaks more loudly than with us 
where the great number and immense crowd of heroes 
renders the record suspicious. The cemetery is very 
spacious and beautiful, but outside the city ; for they con- 
sider the city to be for the living. I saw a representation 
of Death leading every order of flesh to the grave, skillfully 
and ingeniously painted on the walls. No one has any sort 
of a marker except an iron cross stamped with the name 
of the deceased. From this the descendants count their 
ancestors. When this becomes too old it is removed and 
the name is inscribed in the funeral volume, where it can 
be more easily found. It is not surprising that they are 
somewhat careless in these matters, since they count this 
life of least value and long for the other. So neither these 
ideas nor other peculiarities of theirs ought to seem absurd 
to us; since it stands to reason that whoever has a desire 
for a future blessed life ought indeed believe with us, but 
must live differently in every respect. 



My Christian reader, these are the things which I saw 
and heard in that blessed republic of God, and which I 
frankly confess I learned. The thing that grieves me espe- 
cially is that my memory does not suffice for the great 
variety of things and that I have not the eloquence to ex- 
press the things which I do remember; so you will easily 
see that I am no historian. Moreover I wish now that I 
had the style of those who can tell more than they saw. 
As for me, I confess that I can never tell all. So if I have 
not understood their meaning nor given account of their 
institution with sufficient skill, there is reason why I should 
regret my lack of perceptive power and why I should warn 
my readers not to attribute any fault to the citizens of 
Christianopolis, but rather to me. It may have happened — 



278 Christianopolis 

and I really fear it has — that I have overestimated the 
value of less important matters, and undervalued greater 
ones; that I have told things in reverse order; that I be- 
came confused as a result of my admiration of them; that 
I W3LS not admitted into the inside of their government. 
What would you have of me ? I am a young man who has 
not as yet grasped the significance of the secrets of states- 
manship, but I look at only the external elegance. And 
if I should ever be permitted to penetrate into these, my 
desire to communicate my observations to others will not be 
lacking. It remains now that we hear in what manner I 
departed from that place. God forbid that I should ever 
suffer myself to be separated from this repubHc ! 

Well, when I had inspected everything, I was brought 
back to the chancellor that I might report to him 
how I felt toward the citizens. '' My friend," said 
he to me, " you have seen how and where we live. 
As all human things are imperfect, we have not 
been able to show you anything beyond our mortal lot; 
but we have lessened the burdens of our mortality, we 
trust, and according to the pattern which we have showed 
you. We chose it not because it was more perfect than all 
others, but perhaps because it was easier. Whatever dis- 
advantages are connected with it, are gradually removed 
by the vigilance of the administration. If it is the object 
of life to praise God and love our brothers, then the trifles 
of human life will not be of such great moment that they 
will render Christians anxious and trouble them. When you 
shall have returned to your own people pray be a most gentle 
and moderate interpreter in all respects. We aspire to no 
praise; we deprecate jealousy; or, if it cannot be helped, we 
bear it. Our huts are our own care, let others see to their 
palaces. If they rage against us, we will pray that the sea 



Concerning the State of Christianopolis 279 

may not convey them to us. We worship the same God, 
profess the same religion. If our customs are different, it 
should not be regarded a crime, as we live in a different 
quarter of the world. We do not force our manners upon 
others, nor do we defend them to the limit. Let those who 
are better than we, judge us, teach us, criticise us; they will 
find that we are no less teachable than we are patient. If 
they can find valid excuses for all their conditions we will 
bring accusation against our own, and will urgently require 
better. Meantime let them be patient with the contradic- 
tory teachings of a single very small island. Do you re- 
main ours, we pray, here and elsewhere." 

I did not restrain the tears when I compared the kind- 
ness of this man with the stubbornness of others, and I 
said with trembling voice : " Whatever my people may 
call me, I will be yours. To you I dedicate this body 
of mine, since nothing else is left me, that my mind 
may be freer. Permit that I return to my people and 
secure an honorable release lest I hear myself called 
'fugitive.'" Here the chancellor laughed and said: ''Oh 
you, who are so anxious to comply with the past, yet so 
timid as to the future ! But go, my guest, whithersoever 
you will, and compare our republic with other better ones, 
that you may report to us the good and advantageous points 
which you shall find elsewhere. For we desire not to be 
preferred to others, merely to be compared with them. No 
one will be a better friend to us than he who shall make 
our state conform more nearly to the kingdom of heaven, or 
(what is the same) remove it farther from the world. 
Hence we have long wished for an abode situated below the 
sky, but at the same time above the dregs of this known 
world." Then I answered : " Unless I am entirely deceived, 
the place where I shall rest will be with you. If any other 



28o Christianopolis 

land has better conditions, perchance I am not worthy to 
enjoy them. To this, your republic, I dedicate my labors, my 
studies, my wishes, my prayers. I give up the guidance of 
myself to you, who have learned how to control others. I 
will eat and drink, sleep and watch, speak and be silent at 
your command. I will worship and adore God with you. 
Now I ask but one favor, that I may be permitted to invite 
my friends, excellent men, who are scattered throughout the 
countries of the world, to come with me also." " By all 
means," replied the chancellor, '' for we do not live too 
crowded to be able to accommodate a whole boat load of 
honest men." 

While he spoke thus the twelfth hour, noon, sounded 
forth, and the sweet melody of bells was heard, which 
is the warning for solemn prayer. So he saluted me 
in farewell, bade me go in the name of the Master, and 
return safe under the guidance of God, bringing along as 
many comrades as possible. And as he extended to me the 
right hand of Christ's love, he said : '' Take heed, my brother, 
that you do not give yourself over to the world again, and 
estrange yourself from us." And I answered heartily: 
'' Where thou goest I will go, thy people shall be my people, 
and thy God, my God. Where thou diest, I w411 die, and 
there will I be buried. And so may Jehovah be propitious 
to me, as death alone shall divide me from thee ! " Then I 
received from him the benediction, with the kiss of peace, 
and I went away, and am now walking about among you, 
that, if this republic pleases you, this worship of God, this 
intercourse of men, this form of education, you may go 
thither with me at an early day in the name of God. Fare- 
well, and be strong in Christ. 

FINIS. 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Academe Royal, 53, 118. 
Adami, Tobias, 21. 
Advancement of Learning, The, 

43, 53. 

Advcrsus Cardanum (see Ex- 
ercitationes Adversus Car- 
danum). 

Aesop, 25. 

Aiken, Lucy, 49. 

Althaus, Friedrich, 107. 

Arndt, Johann, 28, 131, 135. 

Aristotle, 21, 33, 41, 42, 43, no, 
218. 

Athenaeum, The, 45. 

Atlantis, 54, 55, 65, 7Z- 

Atlas, 54. 

Augsburg Confession, 252. 

August von Braunschweig- 
Liineberg, 14. 

B 

Bacon, Francis, 7, 10, 11, 15, 19, 
27, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 
48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 57, 
59, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 72, 
72, 74, 77, 82, 83, 99, 100, 114, 
117, 121, 124. 

Bacon, Nicholas, 41. 

Bacon, Roger, 64. 

Bacon s Life. Letters, and 
Works (Spedding, Heath, and 
Ellis), 41. 44, 46, 47, 48, 49. 

Bacon's New Atlantis (G. C. 
Moore Smith), 42, 46, 55, 57. 

Bailey, Margaret L., loi. 

Baranza, Father Redemptus, 47. 

Baxter, Richard, 78. 



Begley, Walter, 15, 77, 78, 79, 

80, 84. 
Bensalem, 55, 57, 58, 62, 63, 68. 
Besold, Christopher, 12. 
Boas, Fred Samuel, 7. 
Boehme, Jakob, lOi. 
Boll, F. C, 7. 
Bolton, Edmund, 53. 
Boyle, Robert, 113, 114, 116, 121, 

124.. 
Boyle's Life and Works (J. and 

F. Rivington), 114, 115. 
Brahe, Tycho, 203. 
Briigel, Julius, 11, 14, 16, 104. 
Briiggemann, Fritz, 6, 7, 8. 
Bushell, Thomas, 45. 
Buwinckhausen, Benjamin von, 

52. 



Campanella, Thomas, 7, 10, 16, 
18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 
31, 36. 39, 55, 63. 

Caphar Salama, 20, 29, 36, 55. 

Cary, George, 51. 

Casaubon, Isaac, 48, 49, 50, 51, 
52. 

Charles Stuart II, 49, 52, 113, 
117. 

Christenhurg, Die, 21, 59. 

Christianopolis, 19, 29, 31, 34, 35, 
37, 58, 63, 70, 93, 94, 95, 98, 
99. no. 

Christianopolis, The, 7, 8, 9, to, 
15, 16, 17, 18. 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 
30, 31, 32, 38, 39, 40, 47, 54, 
55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 
65, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 72, 75, 
76, 82, 88, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 



283 



284 



Index 



98, 99, 104, 105, 108, no, III, 

119, 120, 121. 
Chyniische Hochzeit, 26. 
Cicero, 212. 
Civifas Solis, 7, 16, 17, 18, 19, 

20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 32, 36, 38, 

39, 40. 
Cleveland, John, 77. 
College of Six Days' Works, 66, 

Comenius, Johann Amos, 10, 15, 
67, 80, 99, 100, loi, 102, 103, 
104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109. Ill, 
112, 113, 117, 119, 123, 124. 

Confessio, 26, 39. 

Cov/ley, Abraham, 77, 117, 118. 

Crashaw, Richard, 77. 



Defoe, Daniel, 6. 
De Sapientia Veterorum, 53. 
Descartes, Rene, 114. 
Descriptio, 11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 

25, 27, 28, 40. 
Descriptio Globi Intellectualis, 

49- . 
Description of the Famous 

Kingdom of Macaria, The, 

107. 
De Thou, Jacques Auguste, 12, 

50. 
Dextra Amoris Porrecta, 113. 
Dialogue of the Holy War, 44. 
Didactica Magna, loi, 103, 104, 

112. 
Duport, James, 77. 
Dury (Duraeus), John, 15, 79, 

80, 99, 102, 106, 109, no, III, 

112, 113, 114, 117, 123, 124.^ 
Dutch Annotations on the Bible, 

The, 116. 



Erection of a College of Hus- 
bandry, The, 107. 

Ensyklopddie der Pansophie, 
107, 108. 

Essentials, The Eighty-four, 53. 

Evelyn, John, 114, 116. 

Exercitationes Adversus Car- 
danum, 48. 



Fama Fraternitatis, 11, 14, 26, 
39, 40, 54, 59, 72, 73, 74, ii9, 
120, 121. 

Farnaby, Thomas, 77. 

Feast of the Family, The, 59, 60. 

Fifty-two Discourses, 47. 

Figulus, Peter, 112, 124. 

Fletcher, Phineas, 77. 

Franck, Sebastian, loi. 



Galilei, Galileo, 49, 113, 
Gardiner, S. R., 45. 
Gaudentius, John (Bishop), 112. 
Gerhardt, John, 135. 
Glockler, J. P., 14, 26. 
Goddard, 113. 

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang, 5. 
Gott, Samuel, 15, 55, 78, 80, 82, 

S3, 84, 88, 89, 93, 99. 
Goulart, Simon, 47. 
Great Instauration, The (see 

Instauratio Magna). 
Griineisen, Carl, 21, 59. 
Guhrauer, G. E., 14, 15, 67, 124. 
Gussmann, W., 14, 16, 21, 23, 40, 

67. 
Gustavus Adolphus, 109. 



H 



Eberhardt III, 13. 
Elizabeth Tudor, 42. 
Ellis, R. L, 49. \ 
Erasmus, Desiderius, 12. 



Haacke, Theodore, 79, 114, 115, 

124. 
Happel, Werner, 7. 
Harleian Charters, 45, 46. 
Hartlib, Sam.uel, 15, 79, 80, 99, 



Index 



28s 



lOI, 102, 106, 107, 108, 109, 
III, 112, 113, 114, 117, 123. 

Heinsius, Daniel, 12, 48, 50. 
Henry IV (France), 50. 
Herder, Johann Gottfried von, 

5, 17, 25, 26. 
Hesenthaler, Magnus, 103, 104. 
Hierosolyma, 55. 
Histoire des Sevarambes, 6, 8, 9. 
Holderlin, Friedrich, 5. 
Holy Commonwealth^ 78. 
Homer, 5. 
Hopfner, Ernst, 52. 
Hossbach, W., 12, 14, 104. 
Hiibner, Joachim, 112, 113, 124. 
Hudson, Henry Norman, 7. 
Hiillemann, Carl, 7, 12, 14, 16, 

104. 



Ideal Commonwealths, 44, 75. 
Incomparable Doctor S. Augus- 
tine, The, S3- 
Insel Felsenburg, 6, 7, 8, 9. 
Instauratio Magna, 43, 49. 
Insulanischer Mandorell, 7. 
Invisible College, The, 114, 115. 



James Stuart I, 42, 45- 49. SO, 
51, 53. 

Janua Linguarum Reserata, lOi, 
107.^ 

Joachim Jungius und Sein 
Ze it a Iter, 124. 

John Frederick, Elector of Sax- 
ony, 265. 

Jones, Stephen K., 78. 

Judas Maccabaeus, 30. 

Jungius, Joachim, 124. 

K 

Kepler, Johann, 12, 49. 
Kemper, O., 30. 
Kit)oenberg, August. 6, 7. 
Kleinwachter Fr., 19. 



Lipsius, Justus, 12, 48. 
Lopes, Francisco, 54, 
Loyola, Ignatius, 10. 
Luther, Martin, 10, 28, 57, 134, 
234, 254- 



M 



Maack, Ferdinand, 11. 
Marvell, Andrew, 77. 
Massons, 109. 
Mastlin, Michael, 12. 
Matthew, Toby, 52, 53, 54. 
May, Thomas, 77. 
Melanchthon, Philipp, 10. 
Menippus, 26. 
Milton, John, 15, 52, 77, 78, 79, 

102, 107, 114. 
Milton and Jakob Boehme, loi. 
Mohl, Robert von, 14, 15, 16, 17, 

18, 26, 37. 
Mohrke, Max, 102, 103, 104, 105, 

108. 
Moller, Mart., 135. 
More, Thomas, 7, 8, 16, 19, 20, 

21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 31, 55, 

62, 63, 64, 75, 141. 
Morhof, loi. 
Morley, Henry, 44, 75. 



N 



Naogeorg. Thomas, 249. 

Natural History (see Sylva Syl- 
varum). 

New Atlantis, The,. 7, 15, 19, 26, 
42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 54, 55, 
56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 
64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 
72, 73, 74, 82, 99, 124. 

Newton, Isaac, 114. 

Nicanor, 30. 

Niceron. J. P., 47. 

Nova Solyma, 81, 82, 87, 90, 91, 
93, 94, 95, 96, 98. 



286 



Index 



Nova Solyma, The, 15, 55, 
7^, 77, 78, 79, 80, 82, 83, 
88, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 
124. 

Novissima Linguarum Methodus, 
102. 

Novum Organum, 43, 47, 49, 52. 



Oldenburg, Henry, 114. 
Opera Dtdactica, 102. 
Order of the Sun, 91. 
Ossian, 5. 
Oxenstierna, Axel, 102, 112. 



Patricius, 48. 

Penitent Bandito, The, 53. 
Petty, William, 79, 114, 116. 
Philosophical College, The, 115, 

116. 
Philosophia Realis, 21, 
Pines, Joris. 6. 
Plato, 3. 19, 54- 
Praehidia, 107, 112. 
Prodromus Pansophiae, loi, 102, 

103, 112. 
Prudentius, Aurelius Clemens, 

276. 
Prys, Joseph, 14, 18, 32. 



R 



Ratke, Wolfgang, 10. 

Rawley, William, 41, 42, 43, 44, 

45, 46, 65. 
Raworth, Francis, 51. 
Republic, 3. 
Richelieu, A. J. (Cardinal), 113, 

118. 
Rohinsonaden, 6, 8, 9. 
Roe, Thomas, 109. 
Rosenkreutserschriften, 11. 
Rosicrucians, 19, 28. 
Ross, Alexander, 77. 
Rousseau, J. J., 5. 
Royal Society of London, The, 



15, 46, 107, 112, 114, 116, 117, 
119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124. 
Rycaut, Paul, 7. 



Salomon's House, 57, 58, 59, 66. 
Scaliger, Joseph Justus, 12, 48, 

50. 
Schlaraifia Politica, 7, 14, 15, 16. 
Schmidt, K. A., 14. 
Schnabel, J. G., 6, 9. 
Schupp, Johann Balthasar, 19, 

lOI. 

Schwenckfeld, Kaspar von, lOi. 

Serrano, 7. 

Sevarambes (see Hist aire des 

Sevaramhes) . 
Shakespeare, William, 7, 77. 
Sigwart, Christoph, 14, 15, 17, 

18, 21. 
Smith, G. C. Moore, 42, 45, 46, 

54, 55, 57- . 
Societas Christiana, 102. 
Societas Ereunetica, 124. 
Society of Gray's Inn, 78. 
Socrates, 147. 

Sonnenstaat, Der, 21, 23, 36. 
Sodalen Utopien, Die, 14, 18, 25. 
Spedding. James, 41, 44, 49, 54- 
Sprat Thomas, 116, 117, 118. 

119, 120, 121, 122. 
Sturm, Johann, 10. 
Sudre, 23. 
Sylva Sylvarum, 43, 44, 46. 



Telesio Bernardino, 41, 48, 117. 
Teutscher Merkur, 26. 
Theophilus, 10, 13, 103, 104, 119. 
Thirty Years' War, The, 9, 10, 

27, 75. 
Thompson, Richard, 50. 
Tractate on Education, 79, 102, 

107. 

U 



Underhill, Thomas, 77. 
Utopia, 7, 20, 22, 23. 



Index 



287 



Utopia, The, 8, 16, 19, 20, 
23, 24, 26, 39. 



21, 22, 



Vairasse, Denis, 6, 9. 

Valerius Terminus, 44. 

Fi^a, a6 i/)^a Conscripta, 12, 26, 

27, 30, 37, 52, III. 
Vogt, Carl, II, 14, 19. 
Voigt, Andreas, 8, 14, 18, 25. 

W 

Wackwitz, Fr., 6. 
Wahl, 30. 



Wallis, John, 115. 
Waterhouse, G., 100, loi. 
Weckherlin, Georg- Rodolf, 51, 

52, lOI. 
Weigel, Valentin, loi. 
Werth, Johann von, 13. 
Wessely, Ignaz Emanuel, 21. 
West'dstlicher Divan, 5. 
Windelband, W., 9. 
WolfiF, Emil, 43. 
Wotton, Henry, 49, 50, 51, 52, 

113, 114. 
Wotton, Lord of Marlcy, 50. 
Wren, Christopher, 113. 
Wiirtemberg, Christopher, Duke 

of, SI, 265. 



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